Young Justice: Still Standing
by Rebel-Renegade-Fett
Summary: Set after Young Justice: New Hopes, the team must learn that losing someone isn't as bad as trying to live up to their memory. But at the end of the day, they are just trying their best to remain standing.
1. Prologue

Before Kyle entered his life, he never knew what being a mentor actually meant. Before Kyle, he hasn't came across someone who could beat him in immaturity. Before Kyle, he couldn't fathom ever sending young kids into battle.

"They aren't ready, and they might never be."

His voice pierces the tense silence surrounding the top members of the Justice League, making every head turn his way in unison, some with sympathy and others with coldness.

"This isn't over, Green Lantern, so they _must_ be ready," Batman counters in his usually cold fashion. "They knew what they signed up for."

"Signed up for what, exactly?" Hal asks, turning to the other members. "I'm pretty sure most of them didn't sign up for losing a teammate."

Even though his tone was venomous towards Batman, the Dark Knight doesn't answer Hal's challenge.

"That's the game."

"Damn it, Batman, this isn't a game! This is the lives of kids we're talking about!"

"I'm trying to save them, Green Lantern. If they aren't ready for what's coming, they don't stand a chance."

"I'm sorry, but Batman's right," the Flash speaks up, giving an apologetic smile to Hal. "There is no choice at the moment."

"It's time for a vote," Superman's authoritative voice rings out, silencing any murmurs among the members.

"All in favour."

The only one voting against the proposal is Hal. His posture visibly slumps back into his chair, defeated by his peers.

"It's decided then," Superman announces. "The time for grieving is over, and Young Justice team is officially reinstated. We need to help them in any way we can, friends, because they are the future of this world."

Before the meeting fully concludes, Hal stands up and walks off, no-one daring to recall him.

"Good luck, kids," he whispers under his breath.

* * *

 **Young Justice: Still Standing.**

 **Coming Soon...**


	2. Episode I, Part I

**A/N**

 **Here we again, with the sequel to Young Justice: New Hopes. Please feel free to review with any criticisms or to ask anthing you want answered.**

 **Anyway, like a cockroach, I keep coming back no matter how many times life steps on me!**

 **Cheers for being here with me!**

* * *

 _ **"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination."**_

 _ **\- Jimmy Dean**_

* * *

 **Episode I: Moving Mountains, Part I**

"Mr West, are you listening?"

Wally's head quickly rises from his desk, nodding as though knowing what the question was.

"Yep," he answers in a chirpy voice.

It's fair to say his teacher wasn't exactly convinced by his light mood. "So then, why is Ancient Roman and Greek mythology quite similar?" she asks, her hands folded across her chest like a mother trying to lecture her child.

"Because they're both Ancient," he jokes, earning him a few quite chuckles in the classroom.

"I didn't ask for humour, I asked for an answer," she responds, veins almost popping out of her forehead in frustration.

"Technically, it was an answer though."

After his correct, albeit cheeky retort, her hand quickly points towards the door and she raises her voice to a point teetering on the edge of shouting.

"Perhaps the Principle's office will help correct those awful manners."

 _Doubt it,_ he thinks to himself as he packs up his things and strolls out of the classroom, giving his teacher a sarcastic salute on the way out.

The walk was a familiar one for him in the past few months since his last foray into the world of heroism. With everything that happened- and the fact that nobody knows what someone sacrificed for them- he has watched himself decline.

Every single week, he sits down silently in his room and tries to persuade himself this is the week he's going to crawl back to his usual academic competency, but every time he fails.

Normally, he would try and talk to Robin about it, however since the team was tore down, contact with his friends hasn't been possible; Batman has a tight leash on Robin, that's for sure.

Barry could try the same with him, although his uncle hasn't exactly been speaking to him recently either. It's as though they have forgotten he was a hero at all.

Fortunately, he's managed to somewhat stay in contact with Conner, M'gann, and Artemis. Although, Kaldur isn't an option because he's under the sea, probably swimming amongst the fishes and singing 'Under the Sea'.

Flopping onto the chair outside of the Principle's office, he closes his eyes and imagines the feeling of the wind on his face as he runs throughout the city.

Because of the incident, Barry has somewhat banned him from using his speed until he says he can.

Being the decent nephew he is, he decided he would accept the decision of his uncle without too much hassle, if only to deflect any concern headed his way.

It doesn't take long before the Principal opens his door and beckons for him to enter.

Begrudgingly, he shuffles in and closes the door behind him, taking a seat in front of the senior man.

Cool and sharp, the Principle's green eyes are dull and his greying hair is combed over perfectly with a sticky gel. His hands are displayed in front of him completely parallel to each other, lying on the walnut desk without a sliver of movement.

"Here we are again, Mr West."

If Wally were to be inside of Mount Justice, he'd expect to be receiving a briefing from Batman with the sheer level of seriousness coming from the man before him.

Still, the Principal was nowhere near as intimidating and frightening as the Batman. And, Wally believes he knows the ginger teenager isn't afraid of his authority routine.

Reckoning that might be one of the reasons he doesn't like Wally- as well as his rapidly declining grades and poor behaviour- he decided to play along for now, because he's really given up on resisting.

"What happened, Wallace? You were doing perfectly fine, and now-"

"I'm failing and getting disciplinary cautions," he finishes the Principle's sentence, sighing. "Believe me, my parents don't fail to remind my existence every single day"

"Yes. If you're so aware of your behaviour, why haven't you solved it?" the middle-aged man asks with a hint of curiosity and an aftertaste of concern.

"Let's just say that I've... lost a friend," he answers honestly, more so than he usually does.

Normally, he avoids the questions about why his behaviour changed so suddenly and just gets on with it, but he guesses that now is as convenient as any other time.

Receiving Wally's answer with a quick twinkle of sympathy in his otherwise serious eyes, the recipient mouth twitches.

Leaning back into his chair and easing his posture, the Principal mumbles, "I see."

The man stares directly at Wally without blinking, as though trying to think of what to do next.

"You know when people say that it gets better with time," Wally starts, "does it actually get better? I mean, it's been six months and I still can't forget about it."

"People die, Wallace. Animals die. Plants die. But do you know what never dies?"

Wally finds himself unwillingly shaking his head after failing to come up with a witty remark.

"True friendship," the Principal answers his own question, a thin smile appearing on his face. "Honour that friendship, and live up to what that friend would have wanted. There's no point in trying to forget, so just embrace it and use it to fuel you forwards."

Words stinging his chest like darts thrown against a board, he comes to realise perhaps he isn't doing justice to Kyle's memory. Kyle wouldn't have wanted him to waste his life pretending to be someone he isn't; he did that himself when he tried so hard to continue the illusion he was an arrogant idiot.

"That will be all. You're free to leave."

Without him telling his hands to, they grasp his bag and his legs stand up from the chair, walking over to the door.

Opening it, he stands in the doorway for a second before saying, "thanks."

Closing the door behind him, he strides down the hallway, ears deafened as though he was underwater. The usual chaos which ensues around him seems to quieten down until the point of silence.

All that's left is a self-reflective speedster, and his thoughts.

* * *

 _Focus. Control. Free of emotion._

Richard Grayson's brain drowns in the dark mantra, plunging his head into a river of blackness and baptising him with viciousness and brutality.

Stalking him is the Batman, masquerading as a shirtless Bruce Wayne.

Circling around the young bird with intent, the teenager returns the movements with his agile and light feet, daring to mix in some mild acrobatics with the circle to try and put off the older man.

Outside of the training session stands the elder butler Alfred, gazing on with keen eyes, searching for any visible sign of serious injury to Richard.

Of course, he never even tries to look for harm on Bruce, because Dick rarely touches the Batman during the numerous sparring sessions.

Bruce nods silently, asking for a sign that Dick is ready.

Robin answers with a reciprocal nudge of the head, eyes focused on the large and muscular form before him.

If Alfred hasn't been staring at the two so vigorously, he might have missed the beginning of the action as the two spring forwards towards each other.

Energy building in his ankles, just before they collide, Richard flips above Bruce.

However, the Batman apparently saw the move coming, grabbing his foot and attempting to slam him to the ground, but being an agile and youthful person, Dick manages to squirm from his grasp and lands on his one foot, before receiving a side kick straight to his solar plexus.

Raising his hands into a fighting stance and trying his best to breath calmly despite the panic rising naturally from his body, he charges Bruce, feinting by moving his right shoulder and then coming in with a left hook.

Obviously, Bruce sees it coming and catches his fist, using Dick's own momentum to launch him harshly onto the floor by tripping him.

Feeling the familiar taste of metallic blood in his mouth, the young bird flips to his feet and dashes backwards to make some distance between them.

"You're too predictable," Bruce speaks up, though he doesn't quite know whether his adopted father is being serious or taunting him.

Bruce is like that: everything he says when in Batman mode can have multiple different interpretations simply because his tone and body language remains the same throughout.

 _Predict this_ , he thinks, swiftly picking up a mug and launching it at Bruce's head.

For a second, he actually believed he could have hit Bruce with it, although the man simply caught it as though it was a baseball.

Still holding the pottery, he beckons for his protege to stand down.

"Couldn't you have been a little more careful, Master Bruce?" Alfred sighs, coming over to Richard and checking on his condition.

"No. The criminals won't, so neither should I," the Batman stubbornly responds as per usual, making his butler roll his eyes.

"Might I remind you, Master Bruce, that you are not a criminal," the British man says, giving Dick a short smile.

"Why are we stopping?" the boy hero known as Robin asks, walking over to Bruce.

"Because, you need to get ready."

He gives Bruce a raised eyebrow. "Get ready for what exactly?"

"To go back to Mount Justice," his father indifferently responds, perhaps ignoring the confused expression on his son's face.

"So, that's it?" he asks, astounded. "After six months of you telling me nothing, you're just going to decide that I'm to go back all of a sudden."

"It was a League decision, for your best interests," Bruce replies, his furrowed brow hinting he might not fully understand why Richard is being so confrontational.

 _Figures_ , he inwardly sighs.

"It was the League which disbanded it in the first place. We were ready for this six months ago."

"Maybe you were ready. Not everyone can deal with the pain of losing someone so close," Bruce counters, referring to how Dick had lost both of his parents a long time ago.

"So... what's that reason? I mean, why now of all times?" he questions the brooding and scarred Bruce Wayne, somewhat accusing him of setting things into motion as he normally does. "Since I'm assuming you proposed the idea."

"It's time for you to make a choice," Bruce ignores the question. "Either you can rejoin, or you can leave."

"Why would I leave? After everything we have been through together?"

Bruce's eyes steel. "Don't get too attached. People die. Heroes die."

"And what if I died, huh? Would you be saying the same thing," Dick asks, genuinely curious as to how he would respond to that circumstance.

Though, nothing could prepare him for the response he got.

"Yes, I would. You chose this life, and the consequences are on you alone."

"Master Bruce," Alfred raises voice in a warning tone.

Then, the butler turns to the young acrobat. "Come on, Master Richard, it's time for something to eat," he says, placing a hand on his shoulder and leading him away.

Dick can feel Bruce's relentless eyes blaze into his back as he is led away.

 _Does he really not care?_

"Don't mind him, Master Richard, you know how he can be at times," the butler soothes him, giving the boy a warm smile. "Besides, he'll regret what he said in a few minutes, as he always does."

"Do you know how the others are? Let's just say that he hasn't let me speak to many of them," Richard asks, wanting to divert the conversation away from the skulking vigilante behind him.

Exiting the bat cave and entering Wayne manor through the fireplace, Alfred motions for him to sit down, wandering off to the kitchen, presumably to make him something to eat.

Seating himself, his ribs and back ache badly, reminding him to perhaps take it easier next training session.

Eyes drifting to the fireplace, he looks at the photograph of Bruce and him with Christmas hats on.

Back then, things were a lot simpler than they are right now; no superpowers apart from the rare villains who had them, and it was just the dynamic duo taking on the streets of Gotham as a unit, and not mentor and apprentice.

The familiar sound of the fireplace opening occurs, and Bruce steps into the manor, standing there for a few minutes before turning to him.

"Want to play some basketball?"

"Yeah," he answers, a thin smile forming. "I'm going to beat you this time."

* * *

Skating down the road and weaving through the various cars and trucks with the reflexes of a speedster, he almost closes his eyes to take in the feeling of the wind blowing on his face. It doesn't compare to how it does when running with the speed force, but it's close enough.

Ignoring the beeps and angry curses flung his way from angry drivers, he focuses on his journey home, even attempting a trick at one point, although nearly crashing to the ground and completely embarrassing himself.

When one driver makes a threatening move towards him with his car, he sighs heavily and heads onto the sidewalk, instead having to deal with the fury of pedestrians. Of course, it's mostly the elders who seem to be furious.

 _If only I could run, I would be there already._

Still, with the momentum he has gained on his skateboard, he's going at a fairly breakneck speed.

To anyone else, he would be a crazy kid looking to land face first into the cold, hard floor.

Then again, not many people can go at these speeds and still watch everything in slow motion.

To him, he's a slug struggling to get back under a rock, and being tortured with the sight of the world moving by around him.

Passing into his street and spotting his house towards the latter end of the road, he begins to slow down, coming to a complete halt directly in front of the door.

Kicking the board into his hand, before pausing a second to admire the rare piece of dexterity, he shrugs and opens the door.

As usual, it's relatively quiet, with his parents being at work still.

Before the team was disbanded, he hated the silence; he always needed someone to talk to, just so he could remain sane. Now, he enjoys the quietness of the house, as it gives him time to ponder.

Kyle would probably be calling him a loner if he was still here, but that's something he just has to guess, considering he isn't around to make solidify the assumption.

Heading straight to the fridge, his fingers tap a variety of items, including some cheese and meat.

Deciding to take the carb option, he pulls out the cheese and gets some biscuits from a cupboard, placing the cheese on top and stuffing his mouth with it, allowing the strong cheddar to water his mouth.

And just like that, it disappeared again.

"I can't even enjoy food anymore," he mumbles to himself, feet banging on the stairs as he bounds up them.

Admiring the organised mess which he calls his humble abode, he immediately face palms his bed.

"Pull yourself together man," he scolds himself, his voice amusingly muffled by the face-full of bed sheets. "Even Conner will probably be less grumpy than you."

"Wow," a young voice interrupts his episode, causing him fall of the bed. "What's happened to you, Wally?"

Picking up his aching frame from the ground, his eyes settle on Richard Grayson.

Annoyed, he puts his hands on his waist. "Really?!"

"Yep, really."

"You remember when I told you that the door is always open to you? Yeah, I didn't mean when nobody's home."

A smile cultivates on Dick's face, and soon they both start chuckling, embracing each other.

"It's good to see you, man," he greets his old friend warmly.

"You too," his friend replied.

"Judging by the fact you are here, I'm guessing we're back in business?"

"The League wants the team back together. You up for it?" Robin asks, holding out his hand.

"Hell yeah," the speedster says, grasping his hand and shaking it, before doing a fist bump.

"Uhh... just let me... tell my parents first."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Question Time!**

 **1) Rating out of ten, and why, if you can.**

 **2) Any criticisms?**

 **3) How long ago were you introduced to Young Justice: New Hopes/First Season.**


	3. Episode I, Part II

**A/N**

 **Please feel free to review with any criticisms or to ask anthing you want answered.**

 **Sorry for the massive wait! I'm 99% certain I can now regularly upload this for you guys, so please try and forgive me.**

* * *

 _"If you are going through hell, keep going."_

 _\- Winston Churchill_

* * *

 **Episode I: Moving Mountains, Part II**

Boots clattering on the cold, hard ground inside of Mount Justice, Robin moves alongside his mentor with his eyes falling upon the familiar rooms. The gym, forever painted with several holes in the wall, a reminder left by Superboy of a time when he was an enraged time-bomb which little to no inhibitions against outbursts of fury. Everything feels so normal, yet abnormal.

Kyle used to joke about how Conner wasn't even one year old and had the hormone problems of a pregnant woman.

Now, there's no more jokes, no more joy- the place almost feels empty despite it being occupied by the members of the team.

At least they haven't visibly changed much: Superboy with his permanent frown, Wally with his welcoming smile, M'gann with her constant curiosity, and finally Artemis, whose face seems to be torn between moody teenager and light hearted kid very often.

"I need to do something," he mutters to the tall and muscular figure of the Batman, who doesn't give an inkling on whether he gives his consent, but doesn't refuse either.

Leaving his mentor's shadow- quite literally- he hurries off towards their rooms, passing what once belonged to Kaldur along the way.

Just the thought of the traitor sends a chilling amount of morbid excitement down his spine, and for a second, he wonders if this is what Bruce feels whenever he's on the verge of breaking the code.

To be honest, he doesn't know whether he could trust himself- or anyone else in the team- to not kill Kaldur upon meeting him, and that truly unsettles him more than any feeling of regret or sadness.

Without knowing it, his feet halt at the door to Kyle's room, the picture he drew of the entire team still stuck to the entrance.

Conveying his childish humour, he drew a picture of the entire team of children, with him standing in the middle doing the Superman pose. Kyle always did have an interesting way of expressing his fondness of the team, and this was one of those ways.

 _We're all going to miss you_ , Robin thinks, opening the door to find the usual amalgamation of strewn, unfinished drawings and empty chocolate packets lying next to the bin where he tried- and usually failed- to throw them into it. He was an untidy person, that's for sure, but they loved him for it.

Whilst everyone would be anxious for an upcoming mission, he'd be lay across the couch watching a show with a bowl of snacks without a care in the world. When times got tough, he was the one to pull the team together using sharp wit and crude jokes.

No matter what, he's still here in his eyes, running around the hallways with Wally, Conner rushing after them because they played a prank on him.

This is what Batman always talked about.

There is no happy ending for people like them, only the long and hard grind for peace and justice- it might never end, but that's the risk they must take.

Hand reaching into his utility belt, he grasps a piece of paper out of a pouch, and brings it out.

Scribbled inside is a note left by Kyle.

It reads, 'It's YJ or the highway. Always remember.'

He gave it to Robin just before the team and the Justice League faced off against the Light and Project Solar Dawn, as a reminder nothing could stop them when they're together.

Gently placing it onto the former Green Lantern's bed, he leaves the room and swiftly returns to the centre of the mountain, Wally shooting him a supportive smile.

Everyone is there with their mentors by their side, so he does the poetic thing and stands next to his.

Bruce drapes his cape so that it rests behind him, which is the closest thing he ever gets to a hand on the shoulder when they're in their costumes. It's a comforting, albeit minuscule gesture by his adopted father, so he welcomes it.

The original Green Lantern stands by himself, arms crossed and a look on forlorn contemplation on his face.

Green Lantern and the Batman share a momentary glance, before the Lantern coughs and takes a deep and calming breath.

"I know that things haven't been... easy lately, for anybody, and I can definitely understand that," he starts, turning around to face away from the group.

"I've had my fair share of loss, from my father to close friends. But whenever I wanted to sit back and grieve, I came to the conclusion that although one life has been extinguished, the world still goes on. It still needs _our_ help. Because of that fact, we need to rely on you once again."

Taking over from his clearly distraught peer, Batman steps forward, saying, "We haven't heard anything from the Light recently and Lex Luthor had gone underground, which means they are still out there and probably regrouping."

"Now's the time to stand up, and not let them get away with what they've done. He'd want justice."

Artemis, who's head had been glued towards the ground during the entirety of the briefing, speaks up, a fiery determination within her voice.

"What do you need us to do?" she asks, eyes focused and concentrated.

"For now," the Flash answers, "have a sparring session and get limbered up whilst we talk."

A few minutes later, and unsurprisingly, the training session turns south. Considering the majority of them haven't been maintaining their skills outside of the team, Robin thinks it went fairly well, but it was painfully obvious emotions took over logic during the session.

As always, Superboy went on a rampage, and the team is lucky the floor has a fantastic durability considering the amount of time Conner slammed his fists against the ground in frustration.

Halfway into the session- and many bumps and bruises later for the human members of the team- Artemis missed an arrow, which is a rare occurrence for the blonde archer.

All in all, the carefully constructed synchrony built by the team since its inception has undoubtedly taken a downfall, and the Batman hasn't let his thoughts gone unnoticed, as per usual.

Standing in front of the gathered team, the Dark Knight's spine is perfectly straight, showcasing his full height, amplified by the ears of his cowl. If Richard didn't know who was behind the mask, he'd probably be intimidated by the silent presence, and being truthful, he still is slightly.

"Kid Flash," Batman's deep and stern voice calls the speedster, who nervously nods, glancing at Robin.

"How would you describe the team's performance?" Batman questions, though he definitely knows the answer.

Kid Flash almost chokes as he answers, "Uhhh... terrible?"

Batman fixes the speedster with a glare, causing Wally to make a barely noticeable whimper.

"Worse. It was unco-ordinated, sloppy, and I expected better," Batman monotonously criticises the performance, and Dick doubts anyone of them would make a country argument; well, apart from Conner, who would happily argue with the Dark Knight.

Once more, Robin finds himself wondering whether his adopted father cares that they have spent most of their time grieving.

Kyle would have made a quick joke at Batman's expense at this point, which always used to make him inwardly laugh and cringe simultaneously- the Lantern really did know how to turn a dreary situation around.

"We need a few weeks to regain our co-ordination," Robin tells Batman, the members of the team nodding, some more reluctantly than others.

Apparently, Conner isn't interested in waiting and training. Makes sense, as the clone has always been the type of person who wants to get to work from the start.

Batman replies briefly, "We don't have time."

Giving his mentor and father a thorough examination, he comes to the conclusion he's hiding something from them. Usually, he wouldn't pressure Bruce into telling him as the man has a stubbornness only Selina Kyle could ever crack, but he can't afford to place his team on the line without them knowing what's going on.

"No-one on my team is doing anything until you tell us what you're hiding," Richard Grayson states, slamming down his cards onto the table with an air of clear annoyance in his voice.

Silence envelops the team and the Batman, as the Dark Knight's eyes examine his apprentice.

By now, he's used to the constant games of mental poker with Bruce. All of Dick's cards have been placed onto the table, and now Bruce is deciding whether to go all in or fold under the stakes. Normally, the Wayne would go all in and raise the stakes higher, however the young acrobat let's Bruce knows he's serious by returning the ferocious bat glare at his mentor.

In the corner of his eye, Robin can see Kid Flash wincing at the sight of the two glaring at each other with an endless determination.

After a long while, Batman does something unexpected and folds.

"An informant I have within the Light is saying they're planning something big, and I don't know whether it will be happening soon or in the future. We need to be ready," he informs the team, and they nod in unison after sharing brief looks at each other.

Batman leaves for the main computer with his cape swaying with every step, and once he's out of human earshot, Wally zooms up to Robin and grabs him by the shoulders.

"Dude! You are awesome!" he compliments his younger friend, hitting him with a friendly slap on the back.

"Robin," M'gann's soft voice mumbles.

"Yeah."

"You called us _your_ team," she says with everyone staring at him expectedly.

With Kaldur being a traitor, and him having what he would describe as the most experience, it would only seem natural for him to assume the leadership role temporarily.

"Sorry," he apologises, but Artemis shakes her head.

"No, Robin, I think I speak for all of us when I believe you should be our leader," the archer speaks.

"Then, I'd be honoured to lead."

* * *

Sat patiently at the breakfast table inside of the Justice League watchtower, Shazam returns the various smiles and nods sent his way by the members of the League, both old and new.

Whilst in his magical form, he doesn't really need to eat to sustain himself, but he can't resist Hawkwoman's homemade pasta; she's seated opposite him, observing earnestly.

"Well, aren't you going to eat it?" she asks, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Without a word, he starts to fiddle with the food, taking a few small chucks out of the bowl. Usually, he would jump around the entire world for a chance to eat this dish, however the Young Justice team being reinstated has put a serious dampener on his otherwise spectacular day.

When a superhero stops a bus from crashing, and prevents a bank being robbed, it's normally a sign of a quiet and relaxed day. Being a member of the Justice League entails massive amounts of top tier threats to the planet, so it's nice to go back down to the hometown and have some fun crime stopping.

"Do you think they're alright?" Shazam asks in between mouthfuls of the pasta.

"Maybe you should go and see, _after_ you tell me how good it is," she responds, and motions for the newly entered Wonder Woman to sit down with them.

"How are you today, Shazam?" the Amazon greets him, taking a much more cordial tone than she would with anyone else, more than likely because she- along with several members of the League- know he's just a kid inside of a man's body.

"He's fussing over the team again," Hawkwoman answers for him, and Wonder Woman nods knowingly.

"We all are," the princess attempts to console the hero, giving him a comforting rub on his hand.

"I heard that Hal isn't taking it very well," Hawkwoman comments.

"He's irritated that Batman would push the team to come back before they are ready, and I understand his concern, but... too long, and we might just lose them forever. The team needs to be our hidden weapon again, lest the Light succeed in their mission to destroy the next generation of heroes," Diana explains to the two, an unusual downtrodden expression on her face. "I wish times weren't this desperate, however, they are."

"Things never seem to get better, do they?" Hawkwoman sighs.

"It will, I promise," Shazam chirps up with an unanticipated burst of hopefulness. "One day, every single sacrifice we've made, and every victory we've won, will add up. One day... people are going to be happy."

A thoughtful silence follows Shazam's brief vision of the future. A major part inside of him believes what he's saying, and for the first time, it isn't Achilles talking. Billy Batson knows that the world is going to be safe, it just needs a bit more sacrifice and hard work to get there.

"You should get going, Shazam," Diana breaks the silence.

Hawkwoman takes the bowl away from him just as he was beginning to enjoy the taste, to which he almost growls and snatches it back. "I guess it's as good as usual."

Standing up with a victorious smile on his face, a hand from Diana grabs his forearm.

"We'll take care of them, Billy," she says, letting his arm go and flashing him a friendly smile.

* * *

Entering the mountain through the zeta-tube and in a more jovial mood than at the beginning of the day, Billy heads straight for the recreation room, where the television is- Miss Martian and Superboy love to hang around that area, from his personal experience. Though, that does include the time Superboy broke the TV after a joke he made towards the clone.

 _The good times- it's a shame I don't have the power to turn back time._

Seeing as though no-one is there, the hero dashes for the main area, once more finding it devoid of people.

"Where could they be?" he asks himself, placing his hands on his hips in thought.

" _Where would anyone who lost someone close to them be,_ " Solomon speaks to him from within his own mind, providing much needed words of wisdom as usual.

"The hologram room," he answers the mental question, inwardly thanking the ancient philosopher.

Wasting no time, he utilises his super speed, skidding to a halt at the entrance to the memorial.

Coughing away the nerves creeping up his throat, he enters.

They turn to look at him briefly as he enters, though none question his presence, each returning to their watchful gaze upon the holographic picture of their fallen peer.

Stood there with one hand on his hip and the other proudly showing off his Green Lantern ring, it appears as though the boy never left them, his cheery demeanour soaking into the atmosphere even after his passing.

However, the moment doesn't last too long, as Robin finally talks to him.

"Nice to see you," the boy wonder greets him, a faint smile on his youthful face.

Even though it isn't exactly the most joyful of smiles, a deep section of Billy's heart is thankful the circumstances haven't yet poisoned him into becoming a mirror image of the Batman.

"It's good to see you too... all of you," Shazam returns the greeting, moving to gain a better view of the hologram.

He comments, "His smile was the key, you know. No matter how bad their day had been, his smile alone could make anyone's day better. It was the key to finally getting some peace in this world."

"Now it's lost," Miss Martian inputs, struggling to hold back the tears.

Interestingly, Superboy places his arm around the Martian to comfort her, his eyes entirely focused on the still electronic form of the lantern.

"I don't think so," Shazam states.

Kid Flash's face conveys his confusion, but it wasn't until he inquired about what he meant that it was certain.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," the magical being begins, "that smile... it doesn't have to end with him... let's do right by him and honour his sacrifice by carrying on and not giving up."

The team visibly takes in his words individually: Kid Flash and Robin seem thoughtful, Miss Martian and Artemis are forlorn, and Superboy simply seems annoyed. Perhaps more annoyed at himself as per usual, but Billy- well, Solomon- does notice those circumstances, and this isn't one of them.

"When are we getting out there?" the Kryptonian clone asks through gritted teeth and a tense jaw.

Just as he was about the respond, Shazam's League communicator begins to buzz.

"Yep," he answers through the comm.

"Tell the team to meet me in the centre for a briefing," Batman commands in response, with his normal sense of authority.

"Uhhh... now," he shrugs apologetically. "Come on, guys."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Question Time!**

 **1) Rating out of ten, and why, if you can.**

 **2) Any criticisms?**

 **3) Thoughts on the Wonder Woman film?**


	4. Episode II, Part I

**A/N**

 **Please feel free to review with any criticisms or to ask anthing you want answered.**

 **The story is doing suprisingly well so far, so please take my undying gratitude!**

 **Review**

 **stormrunner74: Defintely, I'm excited to see where they are taking the DCEU. Also, I'm incredibly glad to see you enjoy my stories, as I much enjoy your constant presence and comments. Thank you for sticking with me.**

 **Episode II: Venomous, Part I**

An awkward silence prevails over the team as they make the long but quick journey to Madagascar using their coveted ship, M'gann calmly at the helm. No-one expected for them to be using it so soon, but none among them questioned the feeling of nostalgia when they stepped onto their ship.

Maybe it was that it isn't the property of the Justice League. It was theirs, and for them only. The ship heeded only their commands, and after everything they've been through, it's a small pleasure.

When Batman had called them to briefing, they couldn't have known the Dark Knight would hand them such a crucial mission so soon.

Batman's mortal enemy, Bane is supposedly using the island to import his toxic venom drug into the United States. How he got ahold of such information, not even Robin knows; the list of things Batman talks to him about grows thinner by the day. Even Alfred seems to be in the dark about the majority of Batman's activities.

Of course, their primary goal is to halt the transport of venom from the massive island, and their secondary is to capture Bane if possible; harder said than done according to Robin.

Still, a mission is a mission, and it's too late for them to go back now.

For Kid Flash, just sitting inside of the ship with his nighttime camouflage engaged seems surreal; a few short weeks ago, he was being lectured by his parents for his behaviour at school, and now school is the absolute least of his worries.

Though he's optimistic about how they can grow as a team again, there's a deep feeling within his chest that it won't be as easy as going on one mission.

On the other hand, relaxed into his chair- unusually- Superboy sits with his arms folded and eyes focused forwards.

He doesn't want them to know he's on the verge of collapse- heroes shouldn't show their weakness, to anyone.

Teetering on the edge of despair, he can't shake the feeling he's somehow to blame. That somehow, if he was stronger, faster, or simply more heroic, Kyle wouldn't have died.

Superman doesn't let anyone die.

But he did- that's on him, no matter what anyone tells him.

The others won't understand, and he doesn't believe he ever wants them to, because it's better for him this way. They'll try and convince him the blame falls upon someone else's shoulders, but that'll just make it worse for him.

From the moment he woke up inside of Cadmus, he's struggled for control of himself, and his surroundings. With all the power he has, Superman always seems to be in control and knows what to do in every possible situation.

But he's not Superman. He's nowhere near good enough as a hero or a person to be on the same level as Superman. Chances are, Superman will never see him as more than a defective clone who should never have existed.

But he needs to keep on going. It's what he owes to the memory of Kyle.

Artemis is anxious to say the least, playing around with one of her arrows nervously.

It's the first time she's worn the costume since Kyle gave his life for the team, for _her._ A part of her doesn't yet forgive him for it, simply because it would mean he's truly gone forever if she didn't.

It's childish, but at the end of the day, all of them are children, meddling in a game where the rules aren't made for children.

Even if it's just a little with every day, she's satisfied with the notion she will one day become an adult, and then... the rules of the game are hers to break.

* * *

"Okay guys, we need to get inside without being detected, and that means no-"

"Yeah, yeah- we know," Superboy cuts off Robin as he's briefing the team, giving the boy wonder an unapologetic look.

Superboy has never been one to sugarcoat words when he's focused, but Robin is taken aback by the indifference in his tone and the blank expression on the Conner's face, his blue eyes almost icy against his dark hair.

Since there's no time to stop and lecture Conner about the chain of command and being respectful, Robin lets the misdemeanour slide for the time being; Batman would do the same with him on missions: keep his mouth shut until they were away from harm and then scold his apprentice.

M'gann gives Robin an sorry glance as she follows Conner towards the airbase they've located on the island.

Though there's nothing overtly suspicious about airports, what's interesting is that it's not officially registered under any database on Earth, which usually signals its criminal.

Only one way to find out for sure, but this time he has to lead a team of struggling teenage heroes alongside him.

"Don't mind him, bud," Wally nudges Robin in a friendly manner. "He's just a little moody, that's all."

"You seem awfully chipper," Dick cordially responds, somewhat glad to see a glimpse of the Wally West they know and love.

"You two done?" Artemis chimes in from behind them, her hands placed readily on her powerful bow and eyes scanning the distance watchfully.

"We'd better catch up to M'gann and Conner," Robin nods, feet beginning to move towards the direction Superboy and Miss Martian headed off too.

With Kid Flash and Artemis in tow, it doesn't take them long to find their comrades kneeling behind a cargo truck, peeking around the corner.

Kneeling beside them, Robin asks, "How many guards are there?"

"Not enough to stop me," Superboy replies bluntly, and M'gann places a hand on his shoulder and shakes her head at him.

Her disapproval seems to calm him down slightly, but Robin can still see the agitation in his body as he continues to peek at the guards. His body is taught and full of energy, like a snake coiled and ready to spring. If history has taught Robin anything, it's Conner needs to unload the energy every so often, but he can't allow that to happen on a mission.

Mentally making a note to keep a close eye on Conner, he motions for M'gann to establish a mental link between them.

" _Superboy, you're with me_ ," Robin begins, " _M'gann, help KF and Artemis find the venom containers, and mark them with these_."

Passing over several of his tracking devices, he quickly shows them how to activate the trackers before carrying on, " _Once you've done that, meet me and Supeboy inside of the hanger. If we're quick and quiet, we might be able to catch Bane before he injects himself with venom_."

" _That's stupid. Why don't we take him right now, he's just a human_ ," Conner impatiently inputs, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

" _Don't underestimate him, Conner, he's smart_ ," Robin retorts, trying his best not to sound patronising; the last thing they need right now is for Conner to be angry at him.

Wally agrees, " _He's right_."

" _Of course you take his side_!" Conner growls, threatening to ignite at any moment as per usual.

Conner is in general a short-fused nuclear bomb, and once he goes off, there's little to nothing which can calm him down apart from himself or M'gann.

With Kyle passing away, that fiery streak within him has only intensified. What better way to get rid of the emotions he feels than exploding them outwards into everything around him, both metaphorically and literally.

" _Oh come on_ ," KF groans.

" _Stop it! Or I swear, the only thing that any of you are going to be thinking is that you wished you were never born!_ " Artemis mentally yells at him through the link, cutting into them as if her pure irritation overpowers their frustration.

Quickly, he moves her face directly in front of Conner's so that their noses are almost touching.

" _Do you understand_?"

Although Conner doesn't reply, the defeated look on his face speaks louder than words, the fire behind his eyes reduced to a failing plume of smoke.

"Let's go," Robin commands, gently pushing Conner away from the situation.

Taking a look back, he sees Wally give him a nod, the speedster's eyes filled with something he can't quite place.

" _Good luck_ ," Robin adds on, taking the lead from Superboy and rushing forwards silently, his feet barely touching the ground as he glides across towards the entrance to the hangar.

Conner's noisy grunts and groans are the only thing which could possibly lead to them being detected- Conner has never been known for his ability to remain quiet- but he can't risk scolding the clone, or it would undoubtedly lead to him causing more commotion as a result of being angered.

"Do you think... I don't care?" Conner whispers, continuing to follow Robin as best as he can.

Despite Conner being sometimes distant and frustrated with the team, it never crossed Robin's mind to doubt his commitment to the group, considering the sheer loyalty and protective nature he's shown towards them so far. "What? Of course we know you do."

"You guys are all I have, and after Kal-"

"He's not worth your breath, Conner," Robin interrupts. "There's a few things in this world even the most powerful of heroes can't face alone, and that's why the Justice League was founded. Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman- they need each other both as friends and allies."

"There's something you just have to do alone, too," Conner thoughtfully mumbles, giving Robin the impression Conner has thought about this plenty of times before by himself. "In order to protect the ones you care about."

"First, you have to answer yourself the question of whether they have the right to protect themselves too," he responds. "According to many people, I shouldn't be in this costume right now. But, I don't want people to fight my battles for me; I can fight, and as long as I can, I'll try and defend those who can't or won't."

"Not everything is black and white, Conner. Once, I often thought that I could change the world by myself, but when I grew up a bit, I found it's better to have people at your back."

"So you think I'm still a child?" Conner grunts with a hint of annoyance, taking Robin's words the once way as per usual.

"No, of course not," Robin attempts to triage the situation, but Conner ignores him and powers away of him, making more noise than ever as he heads towards the entrance.

"Great job," the boy Wonder mumbles to himself as he rushes after he Boy of Steel whilst remaining as incognito as he can.

Thankfully, he's had plenty of experience with catching up to Batman quietly, as the Dark Knight used to leave him in the dust when he was younger.

He can't fault Superboy for being too quick to become angry, because anyone can see a good amount of the fault lies with Superman himself. If the Man of Steel would just gain some courage and approach Conner, it would mean a lot to his clone.

It sure meant a lot to Robin when Bruce first entered the orphanage to adopt him after both his parents met their untimely demise at the circus. Back then, he was desperate for someone to comfort him and tell him everything was okay, so perhaps Conner just wants the same from Superman; he's spent far too long admiring Superman without any of it being reciprocated.

Robin needs to remind Batman to get back on Superman's back about meeting Superboy, otherwise, the boy's temper could become even more of a problem.

Speaking of the ill-tempered clone, Robin finds his comrade crouching behind the hangar door peering inwards, an unnerving silence coming from Superboy.

Usually, even when supposed to be remaining quiet, he'll make audible grunts and loud breaths frequently, as though the notion of being undetected was completely insane. Now, he's crouched with the tense focus of a lioness hunting a gazelle from behind the tall grass.

Taking a position by the side of the clone, Robin attempts to communicate with the rest of the team.

" _Me and Conner are in position. No sign of Bane yet, but there's a lot of goons_ ," he informs them through M'gann's telepathic link.

" _We've just finished up tagging the containers_ ," M'gann responds back, and Robin takes note of how Conner's body tightens even further.

If Conner was a gun, Robin would make the remark that the safety has been switched off. He's locked and loaded, and from the looks of him, he's more than ready to pull the trigger.

" _Rob, there's way more here than Batman said there would be_ ," Wally comments, his nerves channeling through the link.

" _That's good, KF- Bane wouldn't miss such a large shipment_ ," Robin pretends to hide the nagging feeling of anxiety creeping up his spine. Then, he signals to Batman that they have secured the containers.

"When Bane comes, we need to be quick before he pumps venom into himself. Bane without venom is skilled and smart enough," Robin plans out their part of the mission with Conner.

"Why don't I just take him out?" Conner questions.

"See this?" Robin says, pulling out a large needle filled with a clear liquid, "I need to stab Bane with this to help clear the venom from his system. Bane's an addict, and if we take his vice away from him, there's a good chance we can keep him locked up for good."

"You think he's just going to let you inject him?"

"Of course not, but, I think I'm up for the challenge. He's big, I'm fast, we'll see which one wins."

"That's what Wally says when I'm throwing him around in sparring."

"True," Robin snorts, allowing himself a brief moment of reprieve.

Just as Robin was about to ask Conner if he's seen anything, the teenager grabs him by the shoulder and pulls him in front.

"Look," the clone points out the approaching figure of Bane.

Without the venom he's addicted to, Bane is still an impressively well muscled man who clearly could overpower any human member of the team with ease. Plus, there's something off putting about the way he's striding into the hangar.

Confident and imposing, Bane is clearly in a happy mood, with the way a huge smile can be seen on the masked face of the super villain from where Robin and Superboy reside.

Stopping next to the large cargo plane stored inside the hangar, Bane casually folds his arms.

"You can come out now, children," Bane chuckles, the malice strongly present in his tone.

" _How does he know?_ " Superboy mentally asks, sharing a puzzled look with Dick, who shrugs and returns his eyes towards the confident villain.

" _Guys, you need to be careful, he knows we're here_ ," he warns the rest of the team.

" _That's a bumme-_ "

Wally's remark is cut abruptly short as his ginger form comes crashes through the door at the opposite end of the hangar from where Conner and Robin are located, following shifty by M'gann and Artemis, who are battling three huge thugs.

The men's veins are pulsating green, popping from their arms as though they were inflated balloons. All signs they have injected themselves with venom before taking on Artemis, KF, and M'gann.

"I've got Bane, keep the guards off me!" Robin yells to Superboy, charging towards the villain.

Heading straight for the villain, Bane stands straight with an amused smile, obviously enjoying the thought of hurting Batman's partner.

Launching forwards with a flying side kick, Bane easily dodges, grabbing his foot and throwing him hard to the ground.

"Batman has not trained you well," Bane sighs, "I expected more of a challenge. But, you shall do."

Before Robin could stop him, Bane slams down on a button positioned on his chest, and bright green liquid pours down from tubes on his back into his body.

The growth is shocking and speedy, taking only a few seconds before Bane is at maximum strength, his muscles bulging and deadly.

Cracking his knuckles together, the super villain marches towards Robin, who's still lying on the ground, formulating a plan.

Leaping up, Robin takes a battle stance and quickly observes around him. Artemis and M'gann are dealing with the envenomed thugs whilst KF is blitzing around helping Conner take out the guards at a rapid pace. Soon, they'll be able to assist him in taking down Bane.

"Forget about them, they'll be dealt with soon enough," Bane snaps, bringing Robin's attention back just in time and to bound out of the way of a large fist headed for his face.

"I can say the same about you," Robin retorts, taking the opportunity to deftly take out the needle without Bane noticing by doing extreme acrobatics to distract his attention.

"You have a fire in you, I can respect that," Bane acknowledges, attacking Robin.

Bane'a movements are paradoxical. His fists are slow but seemingly quick as they come in at the right place and the right time, keeping Robin on the constant back foot. From the beginning, it's clear Bane is accustomed to Batman's fighting style by now.

If he's going to beat Bane, he needs to switch his movements and try something he won't expect. Though, there's a chance that even taking one hit from the envenomed villain would be enough to seriously hurt him.

As Bane swings in, Robin grabs ahold of his arm, using it as leap to swing into the air, bringing his foot down onto Bane's head as he lands, taking the villain of guard slightly.

Robin lands perfectly, retaining his stance. On the other hand, Bane takes a much more aggressive and primal approach, getting increasingly more furious and irritated, charging straight at Robin headfirst.

The Boy Wonder manages to sidestep it, but receives a grazing hit on the chin for his trouble, which stumbles him backwards.

Clearly empowered by his slight success, Bane continues his advance, swinging at Robin wildly. The unpredictability of the attacks make it difficult for Robin to evade and counter, but slowly and surely, he's landing a few solid hits in between defensive manoeuvres. Although, it only caused Bane to become more agitated, roaring like an uncaged and hungry beast.

Desperately trying to uncover a vulnerable vein to stab him with the needle, Robin strikes gold as his eyes lock on to Bane's neck.

Whenever he attacks, he leaves his neck wide open for a split second, but when trained by the Batman, that's all a hero needs to seize the opportunity.

Ducking underneath the next set of blows, Robin swiftly clambers up Bane's chest before he can react.

Just as Robin's hand launches towards Bane's neck, needle prepared and ready, an arrow comes out of nowhere and knocks the needle out of his hand, clattering it on the floor.

Chuckling, Bane grabs Robin's cape and catapults him harshly at the ground, the teenagers body screaming in pain at the impact.

Artemis is stood there with a horrified expression on her masked face, bow falling to the ground in shock.

"Artemis! Look out!" Robin screams, trying to warn her just as a massive thug punches her to the temple, and she falls unconscious.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Question Time!**

 **1) Rating out of ten, and why, if you can.**

 **2) Any criticisms?**

 **3) Everyone doing well?**


	5. Episode II, Part II

**A/N**

 **Please feel free to review with any criticisms or to ask anthing you want answered.**

 **The story is doing suprisingly well so far, so please take my undying gratitude!**

 **Reviews**

 **stormrunner74: Thanks for the criticism, I'll work on it and hopefully improve.**

* * *

 **Episode II: Venomous, Part II**

Head pulsating with an endless amount of pain, her vision is blurred, like his own mind is struggling to process the information coming into her eyes. Unsurprising, considering she was just blindsided.

Somehow, she instinctively hears a punch being thrown her way and ducks just in time to avoid another damaging blow, making backwards and desperately trying to regain his composure.

Eyesight slowly returning, but her mind and body jolted to the point her arms aren't following her orders, her body moves seemingly on auto-pilot, sluggishly trying to create some distance between the two.

Seeing a blow coming in, she tries to force herself to duck, but her body doesn't respond and his fist connects with the side of her jaw, knocking her to the ground harshly.

Panicking, she automatically scrambles to her feet as her opponent rushes towards her, slamming into his leg and grabbing onto it desperately. Finally regaining enough control to lift her right arm, she punches the leg from the side, putting her body weight on the leg simultaneously and pushing forwards.

Forcing the thug to trip up, she clambers onto his body and begins to furiously pound the man's face as he protects his head.

Though her efforts only tire her out even further and the man grabs her wrist, rolling over so he's on top and impersonating her, battering her head as she tries to fend off the incoming strikes without much conscious control.

Risking it, she slams her head into his, forcing upwards with her hips and kicking the man off, her body almost nearly in synch with her mind.

The fight quickly turns sour for her as she attempts to move only to be met with slow responses from her legs, and a slight headache at the back of her brain. Just when she prepares to defend her vital areas once again, a green light slams into the thug, knocking him to the floor.

"Kyle!" she squeals, but she immediately regrets it as Robin stands up in front of her with a concerned look on his face underneath the mask.

"You okay?" he asks, "I saw him knocks you out for a few moments. I tried to get here as fast as I could, bu-."

"Watch out!" he interrupts himself, using Artemis' shoulder as a springboard to launch his body.

She turns around in time to watch him fly into a thug foot first, connecting straight in the chin.

"As you can see, we could use some help," he finishes.

Examining her surroundings, she sees an increasingly dire situation. Kid Flash is running rings around three criminals, clearly getting slower as he exhausts himself without any rest; M'gann and Superboy are on the other side of the hangar, battling Bane and plenty more of the super villains cronies.

Analysing her with a close eye, Robin waits, presumably for her to choose where to help, so she takes the initiative.

"I'll help KF, you know Bane, so you'd be best helping Superboy and M'gann."

" _A little help guys_ ," Kid Flash conveniently requests, and she swiftly obliges, sprinting over to where he's evading the three at super speeds and fighting back where he can.

Nocking an arrow with the grace and swiftness instilled by endless hours practising the motion, he lets loose an arrow the moment she raises her bow, slamming it into the ground next to Kid Flash and the goons.

A burst of smoke follows a short hiss from the embedded arrow, covering her approach as she bounds towards the combat zone, hand already moving for another arrow from her quiver. This time, an arrow laced with a powerful tranquilliser fires into the barely visible leg of a thug, only being noticed for a split-second amidst the dense smoke.

A loud thud signals to her the dart has completed its task, and she takes cover behind a pile of wooden crates, bow and arrow at the ready.

Ignoring Kid Flash whizz past her, she focuses on the smoke, and as it begins to settle and fade away, she fires, hitting the target square in the chest with another arrow. Luckily for the criminal, it won't hurt much when he wakes up in cuffs; Green Arrow doesn't approve of using sharp arrows on human targets.

Head swivelling around, confused as to what happened to his comrades, the last one doesn't have too long to consider his next options as Kid Flash zooms past, delivering the final blow and taking him out with an incredibly well-placed uppercut.

Vaulting over the crates, she heads over to Kid Flash.

Being so focused on helping KF, she only just hears the grunts and groans as the battle rages on at the other end of the hangar, where it apparently seems as though the team is gaining ground, though Superboy's having trouble fighting Bane despite being a Kryptonian.

Superboy is passionate and loyal to a degree no-one can doubt him no matter what, but Artemis knows that on the inside, he might never lose the hot streak he has; against a skilled, powerful, and experienced fighter such as Bane- who even took down the Batman- pure strength isn't going to cut it anymore. And even taking into account how much he did grow in terms of his ability to control his power and emotions, he still loses his grasp, and it's costing him, and will cost him even more in the future.

Conner might be many things, but patient and composed might never be one of them.

If anything, it makes her job more entertaining. When things go awry, it makes the missions just a little bit more enjoyable.

Then again, all it takes is one mistake when the mission goes south for someone to get hurt, or worse. She knows she's human, and so does Robin; Wally, on the other hand, believes his speed can get him out of any impossible situation.

She loves his light-hearted approach to life, but hates the way it restricts his ability to see the larger picture.

There's never a happy ending for heroes.

"You want something done," Artemis mumbles.

"Get a speedster to do it for you," Wally finishes, zooming towards the fight with his usual energetic enthusiasm.

"Well, this went as bad as expected," she grunts to herself, shaking her head.

* * *

Feet springing from the ground, leaving a faint trace of dirt from his boots, Robin leaps onto the wing of the cargo plane situated in the middle of the hangar, clambering to the top and assessing the interesting situation.

Following him to the top is four heavily muscled men, each with a hefty dose of venom flowing through their rapidly deteriorating veins.

Venom has a tendency to wear out after a while, and since these thugs don't possess the constant supply of filth from tubes inserted into the body like Bane, Robin's main plan at the moment is to utilise their weakness against them.

If he can outlast them, they should weaken enough to give him the decisive advantage he needs to turn the tables. With the confrontation raging on around him, he needs to gain some space so he can reassess the circumstances and formulate a plan. And of course, the only things lying between him and the distance he needs is four of Bane's mindless lackeys.

They follow out of fear more than loyalty, but in a sense it makes their obedience much more dangerous. Bane's patience wears thin when it comes to failure, according to the rumours and stories he's heard of Bruce's villain.

Fear can make even the sanest of humans do the craziest of actions. And if he isn't careful when dealing with these cavemen, he might just find out that's true.

Buying himself more time, he rushes over to one of the climbing thugs and stamps down on his hands, causing him to yelp and fall down.

As the others begin to stand up and come towards him, he sprints towards the nose of the plane, momentarily catching a glimpse of Bane and Superboy fighting directly below.

Turning around, his staff calmly enters his hands and he limbers up with a few rotations of his shoulders and wrists.

One particularly enthusiastic thug decides to lead the assault before his companions reach them, and he earns a staff to the back of the knee for his troubles.

As Robin follows up with an overheard swing to the head, the man counters, springing upwards and bear hugging the young teenager.

Bruce is always complaint about him not having enough muscle on his body, and for once, he actually agrees with his adoptive father, as the thug slowly squeezes down on his spine as he struggles.

Hearing something crack, he shoves his hand into the man's face and pushes forwards, using his other hand to punch the man in the throat, forcing him to drop the hero and step back, coughing.

In one rapid motion, Robin scoops up his staff from the ground and whacks his assailant on the jaw, knocking him the ground unconscious just as his buddies arrive to make it two-on-one.

"Which one of you wants to get beat by a kid?" he taunts the two, noticing them exchanging a devious smile and nodding.

 _Okay... so both?_

Attacking together might have just been the best option for them, as it seems from the initial stages of the combat they have fought beside each other on a regular basis; taking turns to search for an opening in the Boy Wonder's stellar defence, they give him little chance to breath.

Stealing a glimpse at their arms, he takes note of how their veins are gradually starting to glow green weaker, diminishing from a once prominent colour to a much more natural appearance. For now, it seems his quickly concocted plan is beginning to pay off, but he still has to survive a while longer as their efforts increase, catching him with a few glancing blows.

Though their knuckles only slide past his body, he can still feel the power behind the strikes- more than enough to break his human bones if one lands cleanly.

Over a short period of time, their become more and more successful, their fists coming dangerous close to him as he twirls his staff and steps out of the way.

Breaking his weapon into two smaller batons, he steps in between the two, facing one and elbowing the other behind him. Ducking the swift strike from the opponent in front of him, he grabs his arm and uses the kinetic movement to throw him into his ally.

Leaping up, he brings both his feet firmly down onto the top one's chest, forcing his entire body weight down into the blow.

Crushing his friend beneath his hulking envenomed mass, the remaining thug bounds up and throws Robin onto the nose of the plan before he could react.

Temporarily out of sight as he lies on the nose, he utilises his environment and smashes through the cockpit window of the plane and sliding inside.

Hiding behind one of the many venom crates inside of the cargo plan, he takes a second to realise the scale of the operation.

Judging by the amounts of crates and the size of the crates themselves, there's enough venom here to supply most of the major cities within the United States to the point it would be much more serious than a few street thugs getting ahold of it. No wonder Batman sent them straight to Bane's headquarters, but then again, it raises the question as to why he would risk sending them as he could have simply assembled a team from the Justice League itself.

It's simple: there's forces at work here Bruce isn't willing to share with them, and it doesn't sit well with Robin. He has a team to look after now, and anything which could place them in danger is his responsibility.

Reminding himself to have a chat with the Dark Knight when they get back, Robin palms a few smoke pellets as he faintly hears footsteps entering the cargo bay from where he entered.

Scattering them across the entire cargo bay- these particular type of pellets are remote activated- he whistles for his pursuer when he arrives at the centre of the bay.

"This is a lot of venom," he greets the criminal with a tense body and a straight face. "What's your boss planning?"

There's no answer- whatever Bane is planning with the batches of venom, it's highly unlikely they would give up his motives without some extra persuasion from the Batman. Robin's too small to intimidate these thugs; he knows, as he's tried multiple times.

"Okay then, don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

That mocking smile.

Conner has encountered many annoying things in his short life, ranging from his fellow team members, to monkeys, to the abandonment of his supposed father, but the way the smile bends as Bane's eyes glimmer with amusement- nothing irks him more than being mocked, and being helpless to stop it.

Swinging wildly with rage, the super villain effortlessly tosses him away to the ground, forming a crack on the surface.

"I wonder where all this anger comes from," Bane continues to mock him with a fake sympathetic tone, "Like a child throwing a fit."

Ending his words by grabbing Conner by the wrist and launching him into the ground and standing on his chest, the villain peers down at the clone from his muscled frame.

"Maybe you'll find out!" Superboy roars, grabbing Bane's boot and pushing him off, grabbing the villain by the waist and tackling him into a wall, breaking straight through and out into the open night.

Twirling around, he throws Bane into the dirt and jumps up, aiming to come crashing down on him.

Rolling out of the way, Bane gracefully steps back up to his feet and eyes Conner with a new sense of caution. Apparently, the time for fooling around is past; Bane's too smart to underestimate him for too long.

It fills Conner with an interesting mixture of pride and nervousness to see Bane respect his power. On one hand, it means he understands what Conner has been trying so desperately to show his peers: he is a clone of Superman, and can at least fight with a fraction of his strength. Secondly, it engages a wary part of him. From the files he's read about the venom drug king, he's dangerously intelligent, and shouldn't be shaken off lightly.

Conner carefully watches as the venom creeps its way down the tubes and into Bane's body, a sickening twist of flesh and chemical. Then, he comes to pity the villain.

In the end, Bane's simply struggling to keep up with the wave of heroes and villains. His venom is all he has to maintain his status as a supervillain, and without it, he's just a smart thug with a penchant for violence.

" _I've secured the venom, now all we need is Bane,_ " Robin informs through the mental link.

" _On it_ ," he quickly replies, charging Bane with a flurry of powerful punches, all of which hit nothing but the Madagascan air as Bane dodges and parries them.

Delivering a brutal punch which knocks Conner to the ground a few yards away, Bane looks over to where the team is hurrying his way before placing his attention back on Conner.

"Not yet, children," he smirks, stepping into a blood red portal which magically appeared behind him, undoubtedly cast by the Klarion.

Coming to a halt next to Conner, the team groans in disbelief, their many bruises painted like splotches across their faces and exposed parts of their costumes.

"Something tells me this isn't a one-time thing," Robin wonders out loud.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Question Time!**

 **1) Rating out of ten, and why, if you can.**

 **2) Any criticisms?**

 **3) Have you played Telltame Games Batman yet?**


	6. Episode III, Part I

**A/N**

 **Please feel free to review with any criticisms or to ask anthing you want answered.**

* * *

 **Episode III: Running Wild, Part I**

Mount Justice is a somber sight to behold: the current sparring session is fragmented and unorganised, the team operating like they are all individual cogs working for different machines.

Conner' hands are tight and emotional, swinging at anything which comes into his sight, be it a wall, the floor, or an actual opponent. His eyes are wild and feral, looking around uncontrollably, unfocused and unpredictable.

M'gann's worried, her eyes glued to Conner with a sense of desperation and concern. She doesn't notice anything going on around her, caring only about how the clone is stampeding around, creating loud roars as he does. Her concern almost gets her hurt as she accidentally wades into the path of Kid Flash as he zooms around erratically.

Whilst Wally is bright and can be creative, his main strength is also his weakness; being a speedster entails a heightened and energetic state, meaning it's difficult for him to concentrate and slow down, especially for a hormonal teenager who is naturally enthusiastic.

Seperated from the group, Artemis is seated firmly on the ground, her hands gently caressing her bow, making a motion akin to playing a harp or a guitar on the weapon. Though it seems her attention is on the bow, Robin can see her thoughts are elsewhere, wandering around the undoubtedly conflicted centres of her already stubborn mind. Her upbringing definitely made her a lot more cautious and hesitant to expressing her emotions, but since Kyle passed away, he's noticed her shrink back further and further into her shell of feisty remarks.

As for him, despite the headquarters being well-lit by the lights built at the dawn of the Justice League, there's an obvious darkness lurking within the centre of the room- anger, annoyance, and even a hint of regret. The team's teetering on the brink of collapse under its own memories.

Nobody could have predicted the downfall of such a powerful group of heroes wouldn't be the Light or any other evil villain, it would be the loss of a person so close to all of their hearts.

And for all his training, past experience and tutelage under the watchful eye of the Batman, he doesn't have the first idea how to mend the rift between the team. There's no handbook, no instruction manual for leading a team which has no desire to be a team anymore. He could perhaps reign in Wally easily enough, but the others will be a challenge he might not succeed.

For the sake of his friends, he has to try, and at least make a dent in the iron ball within their hearts; show them there's at least one person out there which is standing alongside them.

Whether he believes he's ready or not, that journey begins now with a single step.

Watching his friends do battle with themselves more than each other, his eyes spectate Conner's frenzied swinging and leaping, and how every single time M'gann tells him to calm down he gets even more agitated.

 _If that's his way of getting out his frustration_ , Robin muses, _maybe, we should let him._

"That's enough for today, guys!" he exclaims, hoping he's loud enough to be heard over Conner's grunts and roars. Luckily, it seems to have worked as they halt and recollect themselves, Wally using his forearm to wipe the sweat from his brow.

Still furious, Conner's breathing is laboured and almost sounds like a bull snorting as it prepares to charge.

Without another word, Robin heads over to the storage locker, ignoring the confused looks thrown his way by the entire team; Wally shoots him an intrigued look, raising an eyebrow.

Bringing a heavy bag out of the locker and into the room, he lays it on the floor and turns his attention and body to M'gann.

"Mind holding it in place?" he asks, and she nods, the confusion and curiosity clear on her green face.

As the bag floats mid-air, Wally taps him on the shoulder.

"Dude, mind telling us what you're doing?" the speedster mumbles, to which Robin smiles.

"Letting it out," he answers before turning to the bag.

With an almighty roar of energy which pierces through the silent room, he begins to pound the bag, pouring into it his frustration, anger and doubt. His throat burns with the constant screaming, but he doesn't care enough to stop.

In fact, it feels exhilarating. Months of pent-up feelings and dark thoughts come rushing out into the bag through his fists, channeling his emotions into the energy to carry on.

Arms turning into stone with the effort of unleashing a flurry, he stops, gulping in the hopes of aiding his sore throat.

The room's full of shocked and awkward expressions as they watched his display, taken aback by the sudden outburst from a usually calm and collected Robin.

Zooming into the storage locker, Wally comes back with another heavy bag, motioning for M'gann to hold it up.

Showing Robin a genuinely entertained smile, Wally mimics Robin's flurry, yelling at the top of his lungs and slugging at the bag with super speed.

Before they knew it, Artemis and M'gann had also joined them in their catharsis, and soon the entire room was filled with the combined roars of four anxiety-ridden superheroes.

Out of the corner of his eye, Robin notices the way Conner is standing, shocked, but also proud at the same time, his eyes gleaming with something dangerously close to warmth; joining them, a massive mess appears after a short while, the bags being torn apart by human and Kryptonian clone alike.

Ten minutes later, they are all lying on the floor of Mount Justice, dozens of pierced and destroyed heavy bags are littered around them, the stuffing covering their bodies as though they had a pillow fight.

Suddenly, a feminine voice begins to laugh from the general direction of the Zeta tube. The voice belongs to none of than the armoured Hawkwoman, her amusement signalling she obviously wasn't expecting to arrive to the sight of five teenagers laid out like this.

Soon, they're all laughing together. Not the sort of laugh coming from a witty joke or a intelligent remark, but one directly from the heart.

They burst out even more and Wally accidentally kicks out and hits Conner's head, the clone scrambling up to chase after the speedster as the ginger realises his mistake and scurries off.

 _We might just have a shot after all._

* * *

Cooling beads of sweat dripping down from the scalp of her tied-up blonde hair, she feels it's cold touch as it caresses down her forehead and drops from the tip of her nose to the ground below.

When Robin suggested they go for a run through Happy Harbour as he attempts to interrogate Batman, she didn't expect it to mean such a long distance. They've pretty much ran around the entire town multiple times with short breaks in between.

Even Conner grimaces with the strain of carrying on with their final lap.

Of course, Wally's used to running massive distances, but just not without his super speed. The ginger's face is bright red and his breathing is equitable to Darth Vader's at this point.

"Almost... there," the speedster mutters to himself, willing his legs onwards.

Artemis has always had a soft spot for Wally; he may be annoying and downright infuriating at times, but his heart is in a good place and he's generally considered the cheerleader of the team. No matter what was going on, him and Kyle could make it work.

Just thinking about the deceased Lantern carves a deeper hole in her heart. She's experienced loss before, in terms of being abandoned and secluded by her family, however, his loss was much more personal.

When she was stubborn, he'd find a way to open her up. When she was tired, he would make an infantile joke to keep her entertained. When she was clouded by doubt, he'd divert her attention by doing something the others usually don't do: talking to her.

It's annoying how she wants to speak with someone, but at the same time, doesn't. In the end, if she speaks about what happened, it sort of turns it into reality.

Although she tends to be realistic and pessimistic, this is the one thing she refuses to accept. Perhaps he isn't dead, and it was all an illusion by the Light to kidnap him. It wouldn't be the first time they had placed a cruel trick on them.

Then again, that means Kyle is out there somewhere, probably locked inside a tight cage and being tormented by all manners of villains and thugs. Still, it makes her feel better to believe he's much more determined to die in such a sudden way.

Kyle may be many things, but completely stupid isn't one of them; maybe, he faked his own death to get the Light of his back, so he could track them down.

If she spoke to them about her theories, they would shrug it off and blame it on mourning, and she definitely wouldn't blame them for it. For the most part, she's noticed they've begun to move on.

"I need... to take a... breather," she calls out to the group, panting, before coming to a halt and bending off trying to regain some oxygen.

"I'll stay with her," Conner states, also stopping and attempting to recover, waving the other two onwards.

"Can't stop... wont stop," Wally jokes, making a wheezing noise as him and M'gann jog off into the distance.

Feeling a little awkward as she sits down and recovers- mainly due to her not having an incredibly social relationship with Conner- she looks over the clone as he stares blankly at the surroundings.

"Uhh.. I just wanted to say sorry," Artemis apologises, turning Conner's attention to her.

Nodding, he responds, "Forget about it."

"No, I shouldn't have yelled," she continues, earning her a slight scowl from Conner.

"Forget about it," he repeats in the exact same indifferent tone.

"So," she commences, mind searching for a way to break the ice, "How've you been holding up?"

Conner's expression slowly turns softer as he takes a seat directly opposite her on the floor, seated with his hands on his knees.

"Angry, frustrated," he answers.

"That's a surprise," she sarcastically states, being tempted to roll her eyes as well, but opts against it. "I thought those were the only two emotions you had."

"That's what none of you get," he mumbles solemnly, head dropping and his eyes plastered on his kneecaps, "I can't help it."

"You might not be able to, but maybe we can; Robin's good with this kind of stuff."

"If it was that easy, why haven't you talked to anyone?" he asks, raising a valid point. "M'gann's constantly asking how you are and you shrug her off."

"Touché," Artemis snorts.

"We have each other back, and we have the Mountain back, but," Conner begins, pausing and contemplating, "nothing feels the same anymore. The rooms feel different, despite everything being the same. I keep on walking by the couch and expecting him to sit there with a stupid grin making jokes about me behind my back when he thinks I'm not listening."

"Does he even wash that shirt?" Conner recalls the Lantern's remarks. "Will he be as ugly as Superman when he grows up?"

Despite the seriousness of Conner's voice, Artemis let's out a chuckle.

"What's funny?" the clone looks at her, a hint of irritation in his eyes.

"Did he really say that?" she incredulously asks.

"Yeah."

"Wow," she smiles, remembering or stupidly annoying he was. "You know... he used to make fun of me too. In fact, he used to make fun out of all of us, especially Wally for being ginger."

Once, she'd be far too moody to acknowledge the true meaning behind Kyle's many jokes and jabs at them. In the end, all he was trying to do is make Young Justice a lot more fun, and a lot less serious. He'd kept them from growing up too fast, and wanted to make the most out of their teenage years.

"I miss him," Conner sighs, taking Artemis aback slightly.

"Didn't think you would," she replies.

"Neither did I. But, whenever he make a joke about me, I actually kind of liked it. I spend all my time trying to be Superman, he used to remind me I am my own person, and not Superman."

"No matter what you think, we like Superboy more than we like Superman," she reassures the clone, giving him a friendly smile. "Besides, I don't think Superman can sit come and have a conversation like this with Batman."

A brief silence envelops the two as Artemis takes a deep breath.

 _Might as well see what he thinks_ , Artemis thinks to herself as she formulates the best way to ask the clone his opinion.

"Conner," she starts, gaining his attention, "Do you think there's any possible way... that Kyle... is still alive?"

The clone's face turns into an expression Artemis can only describe as absolute sympathy. For once, Conner seems to be genuinely sorry for the blonde archer, and has taken slight pity on her.

Sympathy tends to annoy her even more than Wally, but this time- coming from the emotionally rigid clone of Superman- she feels like she doesn't have a choice but to listen to what he has to say.

"If he was, where has he been for the past few months?" the clone returns, perhaps trying to assure her he's never coming back in a discreet way.

"You know," he adds on, "I always went to sleep hoping that when I woke up, I'd be as strong or as heroic as Superman. When I woke up, I had to remind myself that the reality is I'm not, and all I can do is try and live up to Superman's name."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Don't try and change the reality; just try and live up to Kyle and his memory- he wouldn't want you to be moping over him instead of being out here making the world a better place."

Considering Conner's usual grumpy mood swings and his tendency to act before he thinks, Artemis is pleasantly surprised by the wisdom and thoughtfulness of Conner's words.

"Thanks," is all she can muster, soaking in the information.

"And Wally would say, that's what friends are for," he smiles, before soon realising what he's said, "Don't tell the idiot I said that."

"My lips are sealed."

"Good."

* * *

Running huge distances without using his super speed causes him to realise what the others go through on a regular basis.

 _Is it really this boring?_ he mentally complains, picturing a succulent meal awaiting him at the finish line to spur him onwards.

" _I find it fun_ ," M'gann enters his mind. " _And I don't think there's going to be food waiting for you_."

" _Oh, I know, it just makes me feel better_ ," he responds, deciding to ignore her intrusion, as it only proves his point.

If she wasn't so bored, she wouldn't have tried to waste the time by entering his head; normally, he'd take a little bit of offence due to the lack of consent, but it is M'gann after all, and she probably has a reason.

" _Do you think Batman's going to be mad we let Bane get away_?"

" _First off, when is Batman ever happy with us? And secondly, technically we didn't let him escape since we couldn't have anticipated a portal appearing out of nowhere_ ," Wally assuages M'gann's undoubted guilt. The poor Martian always ends up taking responsibility for something which isn't her fault- reminds him a lot of Uncle Barry in a way.

" _If he isn't, I don't think Robin's going to take it easy on him_ ,"he adds on with some afterthought.

Despite being the only member of the team who knows Robin's true identity, and therefore Batman's, Wally still doesn't _know_ the Batman as well as Dick does. Even then, the acrobat is always affirming he still hasn't scratched the surface of the true grimy nature of the Batman, which needlessly raises his nerves around the Dark Knight.

On the other hand, his mentor- the Flash- is open and fairly easy to talk to. He's gotten very lucky in those regards, to get such a same-minded mentor, who also happens to be everything he aspires to be; Robin doesn't aspire to be akin to the Batman, which creates an interestingly unusual dynamic in Wally's mind.

Though, this does not impede their abilities as a team, considering everyone in the superhero community looks up to them as a pairing worth respecting. They quite literally set the bar for mentor and student efficiency, and no-one else is close to reaching it.

Thinking about it, there may actually come a day he's the mentor, and has his own pupil to teach and cultivate.

" _What's up with you and Supes anyway_?" Wally interrupts his wandering mind.

" _What do you mean_?"

" _I thought you were getting close, but now you're sort of avoiding each other_ ," he explains, sending a cheeky wink behind him at M'gann, almost tripping up over a small rock. "I'm lucky today," he mumbles.

" _Wally_!" M'gann mentally yells, grabbing him and halting him abruptly, pointing over to a group of teenagers.

It wouldn't be unusual, apart from the massive vines and plant life enveloping them whole.

"Well, I guess today I'm not so lucky."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Question Time!**

 **1) Rating out of ten, and why, if you can.**

 **2) Any criticisms?**

 **3) What's the best TV show you've ever watched?**


	7. Episode III, Part II

**A/N**

 **Please feel free to review with any criticisms or to ask anthing you want answered.**

* * *

 **Episode III: Running Wild, Part II**

Seeing the innocent bystanders being entangled and trapped inside powerful branches and plant life, Wally quickly zooms them both down the nearest alleyway.

"Poison Ivy, it has to be," he thinks out loud, putting on the ring gifted to him by his Uncle Barry recently. "Time to test this out."

Firing off the hidden suit within the ring, using his super speed he enters his full costume before it hits the ground, standing before M'gann with his trademark bright yellow.

"Nice," he comments, kissing the ring. "It means I don't have to haul my suit around all the time."

Then, he looks expectantly to M'gann, "What are you waiting for?"

Slapping her head, she yells, "Hello Megan!" before instantly changing into her green form, complete with her superhero attire.

"Superboy and Artemis should catch up with us soon, so we might as well keep Ivy occupied and away from those civilians before then," Wally formulates, pulling down the goggles over his eyes and giving M'gann an encouraging thumbs up. "We can do this."

Within a few moments of his words, the entangled civilians had been cut loose, and ushered away by Kid Flash, Miss Martian floating behind him.

"Kid Flash," the nature-obsessed super villain rides in on a giant branch, setting her feet down gracefully, and with a cold smirk on her face. "What a pleasure to meet you again. But... where's Batman's little tool?"

"Of all the places, you mess around at the park? I mean, doesn't this place have a lot of plants already?" Wally snorts, provoking a wicked smile from the villain, her eyes wandering over the two with a faint curiosity.

" _Now that I think about it, it's bad she's here; plenty of plants for her to command_ ," Wally mentally grimaces to M'gann, keeping track of the plants in close proximity in the inevitable onslaught to come. " _But we need to find out why she's here_."

"Do you truly believe that simply because you place a few lonely plants in this disgusting zoo, it makes up for the endless years of destruction?" Ivy spits, genuinely disgusted with the notion of a park. "You might be just a child, but you can't be this naive."

"The park may be disgusting to you, but twisting the plants to your will is just as terrible," M'gann speaks up, earning the ire of Poison Ivy, who holds out an arm and watches as a branch snakes its way up her forearm.

"I'm not twisting anything, little girl, mother nature itself is on my side!" Ivy shouts, clearly growing more intense as the brief exchange comes to its eventual close.

"Ummm... so why have you always failed?" Wally goads her further, sending a cheeky wink her way. "Maybe nature isn't as supportive of you as your sick mind let's you believe."

" _Are you sure it's wise to insult her_?" M'gann worriedly asks down the link, her concern travelling along with her words.

" _Definitely not, but since when has anything I've done been wise?"_

"Can we not just have a quiet run through the park without all hell breaking loose!" Artemis groans to his partner, watching as the super villain knows as Blockbuster rampages through the street they can see close by, hurtling cars and other heavy vehicles around like a child having a violent temper tantrum. "Why is Blockbuster in _Happy Harbour_ of all places? It's literally one of the most towns in the United States."

"Maybe he didn't think there would be any heroes around to stop him," Conner wonders.

"Bad luck for him then," Artemis pats Conner on the shoulder.

"You'd better get changed," Conner advises, taking off into the direction of the noise, pretty much already in his superhero gear since all he wears is a shirt anyway. "I'll hold him off."

"Save a piece of him for me," she commands at his rapidly disappearing figure, the clone's from leaping around into the air to cover large distances.

Hurrying back to the Zeta-tube nearby, it doesn't take long before she's inside of Mount Justice, scrambling for her room, and the costume stored inside of it.

Usually, she wouldn't get away with causing such a loud ruckus as someone would be here to yell at her for sprinting around, but the mountain is disturbingly quiet, with not even Shazam loitering around; the superhero has a tendency to hang around with the team, and pretend he's watching over them, when in reality it's obvious he just wants to interact with the group.

A shame really, because if he was younger, he'd be a perfect fit for the group: powerful, enthusiastic, and with the ability to smile every few minutes even if there's nothing to smile about.

Hawkwoman shows up every once and a while, to make sure they haven't tore each other and the building around them to pieces. She's really taken to the role of mother hen well, being both protective and lenient at the same time. She's relaxed, and doesn't protest every move they make unlike Wonder Woman.

They can't even watch a TV show without her unexpectedly arriving and chastising them for not training endlessly- a warrior, no doubt, but not the greatest de facto parent.

Heck, she's even delighted to see the Green Lantern every once in a while- the original one for Earth, because for some reason, Earth has a terrible track record for Green Lanterns- because he reminds her Kyle had a mentor who had an uncanny resemblance to him personality wise.

Despite Kyle being downright rude at times, his mentor's normally much more socially aware, but from the rumours she's heard, it wasn't always that way. Furthermore, they're both provocative, and like to push people's buttons, especially the Batman; according to Shazam, the two never get on along very well, with both being as stubborn as the other.

As normal, she briefly halts at the clearly labelled door leading to Kyle's old room, imagining him opening it with a mischievous grin on his face.

Alas, her dreams forfeit to reality, and the door remains closed. It's been a long while since his death, yet she hasn't even stepped inside the room once.

 _Once I come back_ , she promises herself, urging her feet to move down the corridor to her own room, her name clearly adorned on the frame, complete with a bow and arrow next to it, courtesy of a bored Kyle. _So cheesy._

Sometimes, his artistic expression gets the best of him and he went on sprees of random drawing and creative mayhem, pretty much vandalising the rooms- normally Conner's, simply to annoy him further. He usually left her room alone, but after they finally got together, he started decorating.

When she arrived back at the mountain, her initial instinct was to remove the insignia, but she decided it would be too inappropriate; it's a gift from him, in his own eccentric way, and she'll at least attempt to cherish it.

Opening the door, she frantically opens up her bag, pulling out her costume and rapidly suiting up, making sure her arrows are prepared simultaneously. Since she's performed the same motions many times over in his time as a hero, it becomes a second nature to check her equipment is in working order.

Taking one last glance at the picture of her and Kyle so annoyingly placed on the wall by her bed, she doesn't realise she left her room until her shoes begin clattering on the ground of the corridor and it's shiny surface.

Also reminding herself to try and change her outfit- the suit itself doesn't feel like her anymore, and perhaps it was time to shake things up anyway- she's back at the Zeta tube in no time at all.

Teleporting back into Happy Harbour, she's amazed by the lack of movement or sound. In fact, the town seems barren compared to the usual small doses of pedestrians and cars moving around the quiet streets.

Now, there's little more than birds mumbles amongst themselves in the few trees dotted around.

It's a telltale sign there's a villain on the loose, as people tends to stick indoors even if the action is on the other end of the town, and considering there's no sounds of intense battle around her, she guesses it's moved on to some place else, hopefully with Conner taking the fight to Blockbuster.

Deciding to simply estimate where the action is taking place, she hurriedly takes off towards the other end of the town.

With a bit of heroes luck, she might even arrive in time to prevent Conner from getting too agitated and stressed, which ultimately ends with him creating massive craters and damage seemingly whenever he takes a small step.

Conner's a great friend and a powerful ally in the fight against villainy, but he definitely isn't a model hero when it comes to the point of preventing costly damage to the environment, and it certainly doesn't get better as the fight drags on.

She'll need to find him. Fast.

* * *

Poison Ivy's seedlings and minion amass around Wally for their third try at taking him down, their numbers seemingly growing as his efforts to stop them increase, perhaps sensing the fatigue and nerves growing.

Being inside of a lush park, both him and M'gann are on the back foot constantly, attempting to gain some footing and stem the tide of vines and plants hurling themselves at them.

M'gann's fairly better off than Wally, considering she can effectively fly away from them to distance herself, whereas Wally's routes of escape are growing thin; soon, he'll have nowhere left to run, and then, he'll probably be overwhelmed by the plantlife.

Not the most optimistic thoughts, but Barry didn't teach him to be blind to reality either. Sometimes, it's better to realise when things are going south.

This is one of those times.

" _Can you try and contact them again_?" he asks his companion, narrowly dodging a vine trying to curl around his ankle.

" _I can't reach them_ ," she returns, likewise almost being caught by Ivy's unrelenting minions, " _something must be blocking me_."

" _Where are they? They should have been right behind us_ ," Wally moans, beginning to shove the festering annoyance down into his legs to spur him on.

"I like your commitment, children, but how long can you hold out against the inevitable wrath of nature?" Poison Ivy sneers from her safe perch on top of a large and thick branch, spectating the action with a villainous curiosity.

Wally tries to think of a comeback, but nothing pops up. "Shut up," is all he can muster from his frustration, further deepening his irritation.

Due to the convenient absence of the intellect of the group- they could certainly use the brains of Robin at the moment- Wally muses the responsibility must fall to him for the time being.

Buying a few moments for him to think and formulate a plan, he zooms off, allowing him to think at super speeds.

Halting, and then turning back and returning to the action, he glances at Ivy and then to M'gann, before speaking, " _M'gann, if I can generate enough speed, can you cannonball me into Ivy_?"

" _Tell me when_ ," comes her hurried response, her mind being distracted by the tree elevating to her, a hand of branches outstretched.

Examining the distance between Ivy and M'gann, he comes to the unfortunate conclusion his speed must be impeccable. Too fast, and he hurtles right over the villain and into hard ground below, and too slow, and she reacts in time to stop him. Just right, and he'll land directly on top of her, giving him a viable chance to end this parade.

What is additionally unfortunate is Wally has never been known for being fully able to control his speed. There's something about using the speed force which normally entails speeding up rather than slowing down intentionally.

Luck is the most unpredictable weapon in a superheroes arsenal, according to Uncle Barry, and it appears Wally has to roll the dice and bet on the outcome.

Launched into the air by M'gann after he took a massive run-up, Wally barrels forwards, his legs still running as though on a solid surface. If it was anyone else, Wally would find it comical, but since he's fairly certain they're in deep trouble, he's trying his best to take it seriously.

As he takes a quick look around at the slow-motion environment, he watches as the grass gently sways in the wind and as the birds wings flap; he's missed many things about being a superhero, and the ability to see things like this is one of them.

 _Let's hope the speed force is behind me_.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Question Time!**

 **1) Rating out of ten, and why, if you can.**

 **2) Any criticisms?**

 **3) What do you think of the current drama surrounding Ben Affleck?**


	8. Episode IV, Part I

**A/N**

 **Please feel free to review with any criticisms or to ask anthing you want answered.**

 **Sorry for yet another long wait, I've been completing a lot of things, including preparing for the third- and final?- installment in this adventure. A lot of things which occur in this book will tie into the third book, which will be a massive CRISIS on the scale of Flashpoint, Zero Hour, etc.**

 **Do you want the name of the crisis? It might be a spoiler, but I think it sounds cool/smart.**

* * *

 **Episode IV: One's Left Behind, Part I**

More pain. But, he can't give up now- so much relies on him keeping Blockbuster occupied.

Whilst the school is being evacuated, he has to keep the villain as far away as physically possible.

Blockbuster's slams his massive hand onto Superboy's chest, and he's taken off his feet easily, body flying into a nearby shop, and crashing into an aisle full of canned food.

Pulling himself to his feet, he charges back out into the street and bounds after the villain as he tries to interrupt the evacuation process.

Children are being shepherded into buses, teachers shouting instructions. What's worse is that M'gann's friends are undoubtedly being evacuated with the rest of them.

He doesn't really consider them to be his friends. The only friends he has are the ones he's spent the day with, and even then, the relationship has become strained at best.

Speaking of the team, its surprising they haven't tried to contact him yet, or at least come back and find him.

It doesn't matter anyway. He can take Blockbuster and any other super villain who thinks they can terrorise his town. Superman doesn't need the Justice League to deal with his villains, and neither does he.

"I'm over here!" Conner yells, trying to refocus the villain on him instead of the evacuation efforts.

Sprinting forwards with his arm cocked back and ready to deliver a powerful punch, he lands a strong blow to Blockbuster's chin, rocking the villain and putting him off-balance. Though, it does not hold back the villain for long as he quickly recovers and grasps Conner by the arm, flinging him into the ground.

Immediately leaping up into the villain, Conner tries to wrestle the super villain down to the ground, being unsuccessful.

Back being pelted with powerful blows, he abandons the unfruitful adventure and jumps, smashing the back of his head into the bottom of Blockbuster's chin.

Roaring, Conner continues his attacks with a brutal ferocity, pressuring the villain with everything he has. Surprisingly, nothing he seems to be doing is causing any serious damage as Blockbuster continues to battle back and send Conner into yet another wall.

Conner might not have the strength or speed of Superman, but at least he has the durability to withstand such incredible punishment. Not many heroes could take a clean punch from Blockbuster, especially the majority of members on the team.

But, that's not much of a major advantage considering three of them are humans. Still, he's always admired Robin's toughness despite his young age and fragile body.

 _Got to get back up_ , he wills himself onwards, thinking of the students counting on him to buy time. _Superman wouldn't stay down. He wouldn't even consider it._

Gathering his body, he wipes the thin trickle of blood from his lips and concentrates on Blockbuster, who is staring back at him darkly.

 _Good. Keep your eyes on me._

"What are you doing here?" he interrogates, creating some more time for him recover. "Or do you even need a reason?"

No answer.

 _Okay, now you're really starting to get on my nerves._

Patience running thin, Conner engages with an added sense of annoyance. However, it does not aid him as the villain utilises it against the clone, countering and effortlessly pinning Conner against the ground with his foot.

Grasping the heavy foot, he twists and pushes up, standing back up and attacking his opponent with as much force as he can muster. His blows stagger the super villain, but with every punch thrown, Conner begins to tire himself out, and it's beginning to take its toll on him mentally.

Anger bubbles within his muscles as he ferociously hunts down his prey.

Sidestepping, Blockbuster punches Conner with enough force to send him straight through the school's roof, landing on an unfortunate pupils locker.

Barging through an entrance, Blockbuster grunts and charges down the hallway towards Conner.

With a primal roar, he returns the charge with one of his own, being rewarded by having his body catapulted into the cafeteria.

Blockbuster follows, but with a clear difference in his steps. Whereas Conner is still relatively fresh, his enemy seems a lot more fatigued and weary.

Since he cannot beat him with brute strength alone, Conner formulates the best approach would be to initiate a war of attrition. His Kryptonian physiology should give him a distinct advantage in this regard, as long as he doesn't get knocked unconscious.

 _He's too strong for any of the others. I can take him._

Unfortunately, his mental encouragements do not translate to physical success as he is once more sent flying into a hard structure by a powerful punch. Although, he does note how the wall actually stops his body instead of caving in from the force. Apparently, Blockbuster is starting to wane in strength.

Making a tactical retreat, Conner hastily runs away towards the gym, stopping in the middle of the area and awaiting his foe.

Completely ignoring the door and instead crashing through the wall, Blockbuster wastes no time on theatrics and stomps towards the clone with ill intention laden on his the villain by throwing basketballs directly at his face, Conner follows up the last ball by leaping into the air and crashing down on top of Blockbuster, grabbing on.

Clinging on to his back, Conner pounds his head before wrapping his arm around the neck.

Before he could try and squeeze, Blockbuster flings him off like a tourist would to a pestering bug.

Landing on his feet, he takes a moment to think of something Kyle would say in moments such as these. Perhaps annoying the super villain would elicit a much more emotional response.

"You're ugly, aren't you?" he awkwardly comments, not used to hurtling insults. "Wonder what your mother looks like."

What he didn't expect was Blockbuster smirking.

"How does it feel to be such a failure?" the villain retorts, "Don't worry, what you're feeling now is nothing compared to what's coming."

"What are talking about?" Superboy questions, attempting to keep his face from turning red with unbridled anger.

No response.

Only a cold laugh from the hulking behemoth.

"You won't find my fists funny."

* * *

Wally's haphazardly constructed theorem didn't go as planned. He intended to hit Ivy square in the chest and quickly handcuff her, thus saving the day and catching the criminal.

Unfortunately, he didn't plan ahead for a massive tree to abruptly sprout from the ground and clobber him like a baseball bat to a wiry and ginger baseball. In hindsight, maybe he should have accounted for Ivy's incredible ability of actually being quite intelligent.

Him, on the other hand, might have just lost a few brain cells from the impact as his body soars to the ground, only surviving from his superhuman healing taking effect in the time it took to slam against the unforgiving earth.

" _You okay_?" M'gann asks, concerned.

" _Dandy_ ," he replies sarcastically, picking himself up and cracking his back and shoulders. " _I think we're going to need more than speed for this one_."

"Hey!" he yelps, squishing a plant which was creepily worming its way up his thigh. "That was creepy."

He should be at school today, having a nice relaxed lesson, maybe get thrown out of a few for inappropriate remarks. But no, he's here running around, trying to avoid being dismantled limb from limb by huge plants. It's weird how being in a life or death situation makes him want to be back at school.

"Not today," he grumbles, chopping through a thick branch using a super fast karate chop.

Checking up on his comrade, he sees her dealing with multiple plants at the same time, using her telekinesis to disintegrate the growing fauna in its tracks.

Her face is scrunched up with concentration and exertion, a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead. Body locked in a graceful dance as she weaved around to dodge the vines, it would almost seem biblical from an outside perspective.

She's the angel, fighting downwards against the fiery demons attempting to grasp at her legs. Though, unlike an angel, she shows signs of fatigue and concern.

By the second, her resistance falters, her flight becoming more sluggish and tired as the vines grow more eager and hungry. In this scenario, the demons may just grab hold of the angel.

When that happens, it will be him alone against the darkness. No-one to aid or support him.

Superboy and Artemis aren't present. Chances are, they won't show up to help.

It leaves him abandoned and alone. For all his training and experiences, the thought of being alone against the tide is frightening. He has nobody to prop him up and provide him with a target for his panicked humour.

Barry didn't raise him to be a coward, but at the moment, he feels like running away and never looking back. However, to do so would leave M'gann by herself. He won't ever leave a friend alone, no matter how scared or intimidated he is.

Long ago, he made a promise to himself that he wouldn't ever abandon the ideals he's fighting for. In this world, a hero without those ideals is no more than a hollow shell.

"Come on Ivy, that can't be all you have, right?" he asks, warming up his legs.

 _Go for a nice stroll in the park, Robin said_. _And I thought, well, it couldn't possibly go wrong._

* * *

Nocking an explosive arrowhead, Artemis fires into the group of plants clustering in front of her. She isn't the betting type, but she assumes the plants which grow here aren't this naturally animate.

A vine leaps at her, and she mentally swears she could hear it faintly hiss. "And aggressive, too," she mumbles.

"I'm having a really bad day, so try me!" she shouts.

Hostile plants trying to suffocate her, untold damage done to the town via a stampeding Superman clone and Blockbuster, and Robin- the apparent leader of the team- being absent from the mess- deep down, she's worse than irritated.

A part of her thoroughly wishes the plants can feel the destruction she's about to rain down upon them. She wants them to squirm and writhe as she tears them apart.

Despite the team constantly taking aim at Superboy for his aggressive behaviours, Artemis might need to channel her inner Conner to deal out the growing pressure in her veins.

"You're first," she states, aiming at the first plant to catch her attention.

Firing, the arrow lands firmly in the head of the plant, and as she rolls away to avoid the imminent explosion, the warhead erupts, destroying a multitude of the plantlife around the target and thinning out the horde for the moment.

It's only a matter of formality to deal with the remainder, using the sharp edge of an arrow to slice through the various species of vines, roots and plants. A few of them give more resistance to the cold metal, but with an extra push, they eventually all succumb to her improvised blade.

Faintly hearing the familiar crackle of electricity which follows a speedster running, she's momentarily relieved.

"Finally," she sighs, legs carrying her in the direction of the sound.

As she comes closer, the crackle abruptly halts, and it forces her to pick up the pace and transition into a light sprint.

Suddenly tripping up, she face-plants the ground and looks towards her right leg, grabbing the root wrapped around her ankle and slicing it off in a swift and clean motion.

Still on the ground, her eyes rest upon the two unconscious bodies of her peers as they are swallowed by vines and branches and led away, Poisin Ivy at the helm with a cruel smirk plastered on her discoloured face.

"You not going to come and get me?!" she screams at the villain, wrestling to get up as more minions arise from the soil to pin her down. "Big mistake!"

"I'll be the judge of that, little girl," the villain calls back, blowing a kiss at her coldly.

 _Little girl? Oh, now I'm mad._

"Get off me!" she continues to needlessly yell at the mindless shackles.

Resorting to utilising her teeth to chew through a thin branch, she breaks free enough to wield an arrowhead and slices herself to freedom.

Rolling around to her belly and lifting up, her target has long since left the scene of the crime.

"Damn it," she curses, "I need to get Superboy, _now_."

* * *

Effortlessly ripping off a door from a nearby car, he spins and hurtles the sheet of metal at the villain in a bizarre form of shot-put. Comically smacking Blockbuster on the forehead, it buys the clone enough time to rush forwards and punch the villain's knee with what's left of his might.

Brought to one knee with the effort, Conner's persistence doesn't pay off as his follow-up attack ends with Blockbuster swatting him away like a human-sized fly. Adding another crater to the cracked and twisted landscape- created by the super powered battle- for a brief moment, his brain confused its surroundings with that of the moon. Though he quickly shakes it off, it's not a good sign for him or the councils repair bill once this is over.

Massive hand suddenly clamping around his head and tossing him back into the main road leading to the now-evacuated school, he clambers to his feet in time to witness an arrow embed itself into Blockbuster's chest, exploding with minimal damage, but dazing the mutated man.

"I got this, Artemis!" he yells at his peer, somewhere between irritated and internally relieved.

"Well, _they've got_ KF and Miss Martian," she retorts from a few metres down the road, firing off a few more arrows.

"What are you talking about?" the clone snaps, delivering a vicious uppercut to Blockbuster's jaw.

"Poison Ivy's in town," she responds with a noticeable hint of regret. "I didn't get there in time to help them."

 _I'm getting tired of this_ , Conner grunts mentally, exorcising his frustration through loud roars and powerful punches. _We have to rescue Wally and M'gann_.

Newfound energy ripples through his muscles as he combines forces with Artemis, and launches his attacks in between the archer's explosive arrows, inching closer to victory. It's so close his enhanced sense can taste it's sweet aroma.

But then, he realises it's simply Artemis' perfume.

"Really? You had time to put on perfume?" he angrily questions.

She gives him a sarcastically apologetic shrug. "A girl's gotta smell good."

 _I should have stayed with CADMUS_.

" _They don't treat you like Superman._ "

"Wh-"

Before he could ask who that cold, hollow voice belonged to, he was cut short by a sharp fist to the gut, and a painful shot to the cheek for good measure.

Quickly glancing over to Artemis to see whether she heard something, his only sight is her steely gaze down upon him, warning him not to stay down.

If he was beaten now, he'd probably never hear the end of it, and how she 'saved' him.

Not willing to gift her such embarrassing ammunition, he grabs Blockbuster to the arm and moves him straight into the trajectory of another bunch of explosive arrows.

"Why won't this guy go down?" Artemis tiredly groans, shifting to another suitable firing position to support Conner.

"Oh, he will," Conner mutters quietly.

 _Raw strength isn't the only thing which makes Superman powerful, Conner, it's his ability to use his head every once in a while_ , Conner recites one particular lesson he learnt from Black Canary.

"Time to think smart."

He uses the momentary pause in combat to formulate a hasty plan. Astoundingly, he actually manages to come up with a somewhat decent plan which doesn't end with them both being sent into orbit.

Creating distance between himself and Blockbuster by throwing him further down the street, he quickly runs over to Artemis.

"I have a plan," he states.

She clamps her lips shut, obviously attempting to refrain from laughing at the statement.

"How much tranquilliser do you have?" he asks, and she looks at him quizzically.

After a brief count, she answers, "Enough to put down Blockbuster for a while. But, I can't get through his skin."

"Leave that to me," he commands, face transforming into a determined frown.

As he bounds towards Blockbuster, he swears he could barely hear her mumble, "And there was any doubt he's like his dad."

With his risky plan, Artemis will only have a brief instance to release an arrow before the opportunity is lost. Luckily, she's not one known to crumble under pressure and miss shots when there's a demand for pinpoint accuracy. Conner can appreciate her skills in that regard, but nothing a mere human can do will carry the team into safety in his mind.

Being part-human weighs him down, and keeps him less than what's needed to save his friends. It was his weakness and vulnerability which led to Kyle's death.

At times, he wishes Lex Luthor wasn't his human donor, and instead it was another Kryptonian or an alien race with special powers. But no, it was a simple human with delusions of strength.

Real strength comes from his other father; Luthor's a part of him which is a parasite, feeding off the power he desperately needs.

Right now, he needs _real_ strength.

Being the arrogant and villainous psychopath, Blockbuster casually waits for Conner to reach him, and the clone returns his patience with some of his own, stopping short of his target.

 _Time to think like Kyle would again... this is stupid._

"Hey you!" he shouts at the villain, who is clearly confused. "I think you need some moisturiser for that face of yours."

Since Blockbuster refuses to take the bait, he's really going to take it up to the extreme.

"I remember the scientist you were before all the ugliness settled in, and I have to tell you, I didn't think you could get anymore hideous," he taunts, attempting to imitate Kyle's childish insults. "Then again, there must be a reason you joined CADMUS anyway- lack of love from your mother, maybe? I wouldn't blame her though... just look at you."

Roaring with rage, Blockbuster charges at the clone with dangerous intentions. Though, Connor anticipates the attack and ducks, climbing onto his back and grabbing his jaw.

Forcing it open, Superboy calls out, "Now!"

Right on cue, a few arrows explode directly in front of Blockbuster's open mouth, filling his throat with the powerful sedative gas. It takes a few moments, but the giant finally collapses, Superboy leaping to his feet before the body completely hits the ground.

"Nice shot," he compliments.

She doesn't really acknowledge the comment, instead saying, "We need to get information out of him quickly. Wally and M'gann need our help."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Question Time!**

 **1) What's your favourite large-scale crisis in the comics?**

 **2) Do you want the name of the Third book?**


	9. Episode IV, Part II

**A/N**

 **Sorry for the wait, I have another chapter ready to upload Wednesday!**

* * *

 _"A hero cannot be a hero unless in a heroic world."_

 _\- Nathaniel Hawthorne_

* * *

 **Episode IV: One's Left Behind, Part II**

As usual, Wayne manor is shrouded in a stifling veil of darkness, both literal and metaphorical. With all the curtains and windows shut, only small fragments of life pierce through into the main room, forming bright streaks across the floor in multiple directions. If anyone were to walk in, they would expect the owner to be during a grieving period. In fact, Richard's always assumed Bruce is in a perpetual mourning period for his parents, so it makes much more sense than simply disliking the sun.

Bruce isn't a simple man to look at. With Alfred, and with pretty much every other person he has ever gazed upon, it's fairly easy to guess what makes them tick. Bruce- he's an interconnected web where the patterns weaved by the spider changes every second of every day. Guessing some of the pattern is obvious, whereas the rest shifts and changes without a hint of anyone noticing.

Having spent years attempting to work out the inner-goings of Bruce's fractured mind, he's long since decided he never actually wants to find out what's inside his head. From what he's experienced, it wouldn't be anything close to good.

"Something on your mind?" Bruce speaks up from his seat, hands holding the arms of the chair firmly.

"Should there be?" he counters from his own chair, although much more relaxed than his mentor and adoptive father.

Alfred stands up from his chair without a knowing look on his face before clearing his throat and taking his leave, obviously acknowledging the argument about to happen. It's happened so many times that Alfred has become like a dog sensing an earthquake

Seemingly, Bruce also anticipates the heated conversation incoming as he takes up a much more authoritative position on the chair, with his back straightened and his head fixed perfectly on Richard.

"I'm guessing you knew about Bane," Robin begins, icily staring at his mentor.

"What about him?" Bruce returns.

"Don't play games with me, Bruce, tell me what you know. It's _my_ team on the line here," he answers back, shooting down Bruce's denial.

"No, Richard, it's _my_ team. And this is no game."

A few years ago, he would be astounded by the sheer stubbornness and secrecy usually displayed during these types of conversations. Now, he's come to take it as a sign of a hidden motive. When he hides things from him, it's normally because he has an agenda to be fulfilled which needs him to not know.

Despite their relationship as apprentices and mentor, Bruce picks and chooses what information he wishes to impart on his protege. Both Bruce and the Batman are control freaks, that is for certain.

"Sooner or later, I'll find out. You might as well tell me know before anyone gets hurt," he gives it one last try at cracking Bruce.

"If I knew what you were talking about, I'd tell you."

Their intense and brief conversation is cut abruptly short by his phone buzzing in his pocket.

After a momentary glare at his mentor, he looks at the message.

His eyes go wide.

"Wally's in trouble."

* * *

Hidden behind a tree, surveying the greenhouse they've tracked Ivy down to with Conner and Artemis crouched either side of him, Robin inwardly chastises himself for not being there when his team needed him. It's bad enough he's the second choice leader, but the fact he's wasn't there to help doesn't ease the issue.

Being apart of a team generally entails being there for each other, even Batman knows- and made sure to teach him that.

"Any idea what we're going to be running into in there?" he asks the clone and archer to his sides, since they're the ones who acquired the information from Blockbuster.

In a strike of good heroics from Superboy and Artemis, the villain is secured- though unconscious and somewhat battered- and waiting to be picked up once they rescue Wally and M'gann. Good work, if he says so himself; those two working together is a formidable force for any super villain.

"Probably more damn plants," she replies, shivering as though remembering something. "They get everywhere."

"We can deal with plants," Conner grunts.

"If you say so," Artemis rolls her eyes.

At least Conner is characteristically arrogant and Artemis is equally as sassy as usual. Who knew all it would take to get them back to themselves is a good fight, which actually makes a lot of sense actually- no time to think and regret the past.

"We do this clean and quick. We have no clue what's going on in there and to be honest, I don't want to wait and see," Robin commands, looking to both his friends and giving them an encouraging nod.

Cracking his limbs, he rushes towards the door of the greenhouse, Artemis stealthily following him, and Conner normally stomping the floor into submission with every step.

Black Canary definitely needs to work with Conner on his stealth a lot more. Even the Joker attracts less attention than Conner running, with mini-earthquake movements.

Breaking the handle of the clear door, he creeps his way inside, making sure to leave the door relatively open so Conner doesn't shatter it to pieces opening it.

Quiet. Though it's a greenhouse, he doubts it should be this silent. There's no sign this is even a greenhouse at all- no sprinklers or heaters churning as they maintain the plants.

"Spread out and stay quiet," he orders, and the two following him nod and go their own ways, Conner heading down the left and Artemis down the right.

Heading down the middle, his extremely quick reactions is enough to save a glass bottle he brushed against from falling to the floor, his hand grasping the bottle, relieved.

Turning it over, his recognises the street symbol for venom labelled onto the glass.

 _Of course. Another coincidence._

Ivy isn't exactly the biggest recreational user of venom- or a fan of it at all- so the only logical explanation for having it is that two working together somehow. Both Bane and Poison Ivy are dangerous individuals; together, it makes them a foe to reckon with.

With all this new information, it seems imperative that the team rescues Wally and M'gann before whatever villainous plan they have concocted takes form.

Intending to free their captured friends and inform them of developments before Bane and Ivy arrive- if they aren't here already- he signals for the rescue team to pick up the pace.

Searching the entire greenhouse between the three of them doesn't take too long, but still no sign of their friends have been found.

"Are you sure they're here?" Robin questions once they've gathered.

"There was no reason for Blockbuster to lie... and it would seem like the place Ivy would imprison them," Artemis answers.

"No reason that you know of," Robin counters, starting to think the worst of the situation. "Unless... this is exactly where he wanted us to be."

"Yeah, I think so," Artemis adds, staring in the direction of the entrance.

Both him and Conner turn around and see what Artemis was talking about.

Both Wally and M'gann are standing directly in front of them, relatively unscathed but with sickly pale faces, and bright green veins creating caverns on their foreheads and cheeks.

"Ivy's spores have got them," he states, taking up a fighting stance. "We have to shake them out of it."

"How?!" Conner grunts, clearly divided on how to react.

Luckily, he has Robin to lend him a hand.

"We have to take them down," he answers, leaping forwards at Wally and attempting to at least grab the speedster before the spores activate him into battle mode.

Unfortunately, the spores seem to have already taken their effect, and Wally easily sends him crashing into Conner with one movement; or maybe two- he's moving too fast for Robin to even notice.

Quietly annoyed Conner didn't break his fall in the slightest, he picks himself up off the floor just in time to be miraculously outside the greenhouse on the floor with a bloodied mouth.

"Speedsters," he spits out a few droplets of scarlet.

Staying down until Wally casually strolls into striking distance, he coils up like a cobra waiting for a mouse to fall into it's trap. Hopefully, the entranced speedster doesn't notice the grapple gun he slipped into his hand.

Once the ginger-headed idiot is within range, he launches himself to his feet and pulls out a bunch of smoke pellets, throwing them to the ground.

As expected, the smart yet sometimes uselessly straightforward speedster runs around the smoke trying to find him.

A loud grunt rings out as the speedster falls to the floor, rope tightly tied around his waist, and as the smoke clears, Robin punches his friend directly in the face before he could vibrate his way out.

"Sorry," he half-heartedly apologises to his enslaved slaves before taking a breath and going back into the greenhouse.

If Ivy was here, she probably would have a nuclear meltdown at the amount of destroyed plant life. The entire content of the greenhouse is shredded and scattered around the glass building.

Amusingly, despite the structure being made of the easily breakable material and the inhabitants fighting are Superboy and Miss Martian- the two strongest on the team- no glass is broken apart from the shattered bottles and containers around the building.

A small blessing, however, as the two are still beating each other with hard shots. Though Conner is much more physically tough, M'gann is much more flexible and intelligent- he wouldn't ever presume to say that in front of Conner though- and it's showing. M'gann is slowly creeping to an upper hand in the fight, using her telekinesis and flight to avoid, whilst simultaneously, attack the clone with punishing blows.

Nothing appears to be fazing the clone at this point, but it's only a matter of time before one shot puts him down for a while.

When that happens, M'gann will be left with him and Artemis, the latter of which is standing at the other end of the room, wondering what to do. Having two humans up against a Martian who wants to hurt, and possibly kill them, isn't exactly great odds.

And when the odds aren't in his favour, Batman had one clear rule: find an equaliser, and use it.

Despite all the powers Martian's have, their crippling weakness often proves to be their greatest downfall. Fire is a dangerous weapon to be using against a Martian they call family, but with the right amount of attention and carefulness, it could work.

He doesn't want to seriously hurt her, although he might just have to in order to stop her from hurting Conner.

Sprinting as fast as he can over to Artemis, and dodging pieces of debris as he goes, he goes over his quickly formulated plan.

"We need fire. If we get the right amount of it, we can disable her without permanently putting her out of action. Any ideas?" he briefs.

"What about the plants?" she points out the mass amounts of plant material around. "They're flammable, right?"

"It's risky. It could end up spreading too much," Robin analysis, mulling over Artemis' suggestion, and since he doesn't come up with a better one, they might as well take the risk. "Let's do it. Hitting over there would be best."

"I got it," the archer assures, straightening her back and nocking one of the many trick arrows- this one projects a small burst of fire upon impact- she has stored inside her quiver.

Releasing the arrow, it lands perfectly on the selected target, engulfing it in flames.

As it spreads along the plants, M'gann falls to her knees, sweat pouring from her forehead, and green skin going paler by the second.

 _That's enough_ , Robin silently prays the fire stops spreading, but it does the exact opposite, spreading even faster than anticipated.

"Conner, get M'gann out of here!" he yells at the clone.

However, before he could even move and rescue the alien from the predicament, a powerful gust of wind blasts into the fire, cutting its oxygen away and putting the growing blaze out.

When the wind fades away, Wally stands there with a darkly annoyed expression on his face.

"You could have killed her."

* * *

"We can't stay here," Robin begins, making sure to analyse each of their demeanours, and found them either unusual or more extreme than normal. "Kaldur knows where we are, but... so does Batman. He's hiding something from us, and it's something big- I found a bottle of venom inside of the greenhouse, and since it's safe to say Bane is working with the Light- since Klarion took him away- it's also not a stretch to assume Ivy is too. That means the Light is growing, and I suspect Batman knows more than he lets on. At least, more than usual."

"What are you saying? That Batman has plans of his own? If so, not too weird," Artemis scoffs.

"Since he hasn't told me what his plans are, I assume it has something to do with us," Robin adds on, and Artemis makes a shrugging gesture. "The fact is: we can't trust Kaldur to keep his mouth shut, and we can't trust Batman to let us do our jobs."

"So, we just pack up and run away?" Conner grunts.

"Not run away," he counters, a painful grimace creeping onto his face. "I have something else in mind."


	10. Episode V, Part I

**A/N**

 **Thanks for tuning in! Hope you are all enjoying it so far.**

* * *

 **Episode V: The Last Straw, Part I**

It's not possible.

After everything the team have gone through- all the heartbreaks and tribulations the young, aspiring heroes have gone through- it couldn't end like this.

Gone out in a fiery blaze as their home- their sanctuary- crumbles to pieces around them.

He knew that the various villains the team has faced before are devious and cruel beyond comprehension, but to murder children in such a cold and calculating manner takes a lot of evil. Even some villains would call such an act dishonourable and crude, which shows a lot.

Hal has faced his fair share of loss during his employment as a Green Lantern, from close friends to people he would consider family.

This is different.

They weren't fully grown adults who had chose, or truly accepted their destiny, and had been gifted many years to live their lives to the fullest extent. They were simply kids who were trying to live up to the standard set by the League, including him.

If he could go back, and undo the formation of the League, he would. Maybe then these kids would still be alive, and he has to live what that responsibility. Batman would say they made their choice and died doing what they believed was right; he would say anything to avoid any guilt or emotion.

Watching on as Mount Justice continues to erupt in flames and falling debris, he struggles to find some form of way out for the team. Maybe, since they're smart enough, they could have noticed the bomb and escaped quick enough.

Maybe... maybe.

"You okay, GL?" Shazam floats beside him with his usual concerned naivety.

"I wish I could tell you," he responds, gently landing on the ground from his position in the air and continuing his examining of the flaming base.

"Just wanted to let you know that Batman wants everyone to gather round," the empowered young boy sheepishly informs before leaving the Lantern to his lamentation.

Billy's a great kid at heart, and he's the soul of the League, although no-one would ever admit it. But, no matter how powerful or durable he is, there's still a young kid hiding inside the adult body. Undoubtedly, he's taking this a lot harder than most of the League. After all, he also knew them closely as peers and friends.

Strolling over to where the higher ranking members of the Justice League had assembled, he nods solemnly at them in turn- Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter, Hawkwoman, and of course, Shazam. They each return the nod with their own unique way of showing their grief, from Batman silently staring to Hawkwoman fluttering her wings.

"They are still alive," Batman starts, and many of them share curious looks, though Superman appears to have already been notified of such.

"How? The explosion would have sent Supes back to Krypton," Green Arrow questions, sending a quick, inquisitive look to Hal.

"Robin isn't that stupid," Batman curtly replies, obviously hiding much more information than he lets on, as usual. "He searched every day for explosives, and if there were any, he would have found them."

"How do you know that?" Flash chimes in.

"I trained him," Batman answers matter-of-factly.

"So, they just fled into the darkness did they? If you know something, now is the time," Hal speaks up, not backing down from challenging the Batman, which doesn't go unnoticed from a few of the Leaguers, whose faces show some level of encouragement.

"That's all I know," Batman lies. Hal expected as much, but since the League is supposed to be a team, he also expected Bruce to play by the rules.

"After all we've been through... you still don't trust us," Hal challenges, fixing the bat with a disappointing stare.

"He says he doesn't know anything," Superman interrupts the moment, directing his words to Hal specifically.

"Yeah. Until it suits him to tell us," Hal shakes his head.

"I agree with Hal. Whatever you know, you must tell us," Wonder Woman sides with the Lantern unusually, since they are at odds most of the time due to their completely different ideas and personalities.

"Save your breath, princess," Hal sighs, "Might as well be talking to a dead man."

"A dead man has no reason to lie," Hawkwoman also adds in. "The bat, however, usually has plenty."

Despite the growing pressure from his team mates, the Batman seems unfazed and undeterred as per usual. The only reason Bruce would ever reveal something he doesn't want anyone else to know is when he decides the time is right, and the consequences of the silence be damned.

"Whatever you're planning, Batman... I'd pray not one of those kids get hurt."

* * *

"We should be safe here until they find out we're still alive- if Batman hasn't already," Robin introduces them into the humble plot of land he owns by the side of the canal in the crime-infested utopia of Bludhaven. "If all goes to plan, we should be able to take out the Light from the shadows. They shouldn't know we're coming."

"If all goes to plan," Wally mockingly mimics him, a sour expression on his face, "This plan is great for you, right? You get to have your little moment of proving yourself to Batman, whilst my parents think I'm dead."

"This isn't about me, Wally," Robin retorts, shooting him an angered glare and receiving one in return. "We're all in this together."

"Just like with Poison Ivy," he murmurs, walking off into one of the many adjoining rooms from the central entrance area.

Luckily, Robin had the foresight when he secretly purchased this place to have several rooms open for quick renovation, which means they have enough space to keep to themselves in their currently fractured state. And whether he likes it or not, it's his responsibility to do his best to at least add some sort of temporary glue for the time being. He needs them to work together, otherwise the Light will have already won.

Without saying any words, M'gann uncharacteristically heads off into her- apparently- assigned area, leaving just him, Artemis and Conner to converse.

"What's up with her?" Artemis asks, looking back to where she left. "And the ginger?"

"That's not the problem right now," Robin lies, refocusing the archer onto the questions he wants her to be asking. "This place won't be secure for long, so we need to get working ."

"You do that," Conner says, "I'm talking to M'gann."

Like that, he leaves the conversation and follows his quasi-lover into her room.

Robin doesn't mind. Having just him and Artemis is the best possibly scenario anyway, since they are probably the smartest among them apart from Wally, and he's out of the question at the moment. He needs a second voice in his plans, so she is better suited than most.

"What've you got?" she asks, guessing he's already formulated a hasty plan as usual.

"We hit them hard, and soon," he answers, making sure to emphasise the amount of force he wants them to being raining down on the Light. "We hit their operations as often as we can, and try to work our way up the rankings. Take out the workers, before beheading the queen and her soldiers."

"Starting with Kaldur," Artemis suggests, although she speaks with a heavily menacing tone, so it seems more like a demand than a suggestion. "His time for justice has come."

"Not just any justice," Robin starts.

"Young Justice," she finishes.

"If we start with everyone at the bottom, the Light begins to lose its minions, and when that happens, the leadership will have to take matters into their own hands, where we'll be waiting," Robin adds on. "Vandal Savage may be smarter than everyone here combined, but even he needs people to do things for him."

"So, what do you think he's got Black Manta and his lacky son doing?" he archer questions, forcing Robin to rack his brain for any answer.

"Atlantis. We've always known Manta wants Atlantis, so I'm guessing anything which Savage and Luther wants done down there is conducted through them," he comes to a logical conclusion, forcing himself to remain calm at the thought of Kaldur at the beck and call of those he swore to fight against. "We'll start there. Seems like the only place we have for now."

"How are we going to get down there? Not sure about you, but only one of us could go down unaided," Artemis counters, raising a valid point, but one which Robin has already thought about and resolved.

"Leave that to me," he nods.

* * *

As soon as he entered the room, a thoughtful wave of sadness crashes into him, hitting him harder than Blockbuster ever did.

The wave emanated from the Martian slunk against the wall, knees buried in her chest, and arms reflect fully wrapped around her green legs.

Some deep and cowardly part of him almost forces his body to turn and leave, but the sight is enough to bring him to reason. And so, he goes to where she is seated and slides down the wall beside her, mirroring her forlorn posture.

Dealing with emotions- especially complex and powerful ones like sadness- has never been a specialty of his, and he doubts that would change any time in the near future, yet, if M'gann needs his help, he has to try. She would do the same and more if he was the one downtrodden; M'gann always has a way of encouraging and uplifting him like no other. Wally can annoy him, Kyle could make him smile, but only M'gann has ever gotten further into the fortifications he's built to surround his volatile emotions.

Thinking for a moment on what to say, before he could open his mouth, she obviously read his mind and answers him.

"Everything's changed. I thought... I though, maybe it hadn't, but it has. When the team was brought back together, I was so... happy. Now, every moment we spend with each other, I could _feel_ the anger and resentment growing, and there's nothing I can do to stop it," she pours out her thoughts to him like a grieving widow at a funeral, eyes barely straining to avoid erupting with tears.

"Things aren't that different," he lies, giving a sheepish smile when she looks at him.

"I can't do this. I can't stand around pretending things are okay. I care about everyone too much," she sighs heavily, calming herself.

He wishes he could find something encouraging or inspiring to say to her words, however, it escapes him much like every other situation. Superman would know what to say and exactly when to say it, but he just doesn't have the same heart as his genetic father, as his is much more Luther in nature he suspects. He sees the world as far too corrupt and broken for simple words or smiles to fix; every act he takes to solve the problem, more obstacles are thrown in the way, which takes him back three steps.

With every building Superman- or any hero- saves, another villain someone else rises to destroy any other. There's a form of cruel balance in the world. As the heroes become more powerful and numerous, so too do the forces designed to counter-act them. Meta-humans may soon be classed as a type of hair colour with the amount of them arising in the world, and when that happens, the equilibrium of the world will be shaped forever.

M'gann may not see it, yet everything happening around them could actually be fate, or some twisted form of destiny. As they divide and crumble, maybe, the Light is going to the same, in order to achieve that balance.

In any case, he would much rather keep the team together, no matter if it leads to the Light becoming stronger and more dangerous- it's incredibly selfish and unheroic, but even heroes need to think about themselves every once and a while.

"The team will get through this," he assures, "Think about everything we've gone through: Kyle going yellow and red, Kaldur betraying us, and even dealing with me all the time- we might appear to be broken beyond repair, but appearances can be deceiving."

"Maybe you're right, but I just can't wait for that to happen," she sadly responds, brow furrowing with thought. "The only solution is... to simply not care. Our mission is to destroy the Light, not look after each other, so, that's what I'm going to do."

Again, he's at a temporary loss for words. Usually, it would be him exporting such cold and indifferent ideas whilst thinking otherwise internally. At the moment, he's not truly sure whether he's dreaming and speaking to himself, or to the actual M'gann.

Resorting to sitting in silence since he cannot find anything useful to say, he inwardly hopes another- more emotionally attached- member of the team comes to help him out. Kyle would be valuable in this circumstance, but unfortunately he's never going to be here to cheer her up.

It appears it's up to him.

"Remember the time you splattered milk all over my face?" he starts, and smiling when she gives a small smirk in remembrance, "I just stood there as you cleaned me up. I didn't know what to say. Even though you were the one who spilled it on me... I was shocked you would take the time to clean my face, and the look on your face... like you could never forgive yourself for it."

"I was also worried you would explode like a nuclear bomb," she giggles.

"Shame you can't cook us any of those burnt cookies," Conner jokes, nudging her with his shoulder.

"It was a disaster," she remembers, "didn't stop Wally and Kyle from eating every last one though. And I thought Kryptonians were supposed to have a fast metabolism."

"They pestered you for weeks to make some more," he shakes his head, still smiling from ear to ear. "What did you keep on saying?"

"When you least expect them," she states. "Turns out... them two always expect food."

Every single time the team would meet for a briefing or team-building exercise, both Kyle and Wally would sneak off and ransack the kitchen for any food M'gann had made, either burnt or not. It happened so often she started to make food only after they had left and save it for when they came back.

He regrets to remember that he even went with them once, only to stop Wally from begging him to try some of M'gann's shortbread. Surprisingly, it was a lot more delicious than he expected, and it made him realise why they loved to eat anything M'gann had made.

It wasn't just cooked. There was a tint of love in everything she touched, as thought it was some kind of Martian secret ingredient.

Although he never went with them ever again, he still remembers the way they looked at him expectantly with joyful eyes and wide smiles, like children letting their parent taste their candy. Luckily, Robin never asked where he disappeared to, so he never had to admit sneaking off with Wally and Kyle, which would severely damage his reputation of hater of all things Kyle.

Things were so naive and simple back then.

Things aren't so simple now.

* * *

Normally, it would be a quiet pleasure for her to draw back her bow and take a few practise shots. In a world full of non-stop noise and action, when the world goes silent as she draws back the bow and takes a deep breath, she can truly take a moment to rest and relax. The moment before releasing the arrow into the target is one of the serenest feelings known to her, like watching a miracle before her eyes.

Looking at a bow, it's difficult to imagine how much force can be generated with a simple pull. Although, it isn't as simple as pulling; a multitude of muscles and physics goes into the drawing, and once a person understands which muscles to rely on and how to position them, the bow can be a deadly weapon.

Miraculous, that thousands of years ago, the same principles she employs today, were also used, albeit without the added advantage of sights and precise design.

As with all things, humans evolve and progress. Archers turned into rifleman, apothecaries turned into doctors, and the mythological heroes of legend- Arthur, Achilles, and many others- became much more than legend.

Back then, she doubts the stories were told to inform of fact, and only to inspire and encourage. No-one was supposed to actually feel their presence in any place other than their heart. Now, they can see their power up close; most are frightened by it, and not inspired.

Or should be.

Superman can save entire cities from disaster, but there's a dark side to that power.

Humans are cautious, and that cautious instinct will always spawn people such as Luthor, who wish to see the potential threat dealt with, among other things.

She should be just as wary of her friends. There's no such things as an unbreakable hero.

And when one of them breaks, they can either rise again, or spiral into the darkness.

Wishing she didn't know all too well what breaking can do to a hero, she takes aim and pressed down onto a pressure pad with her foot, connected to a tennis machine.

As the ball flies into the air, she lets loose.

The ball clatters forcefully off the wall, making some headway before coming to a halt, her arrow laid firmly into the wall, missing her target.

 _Wonderful_ , she mentally curses her inaccuracy. _Next time you fire an arrow, it might just land in Robin and not a villain._

Green Arrow never really prepared her for the outcome of missing.

A student only learns from their mentor's mistakes, and he never made this one. He could be exhausted from partying, and flat-out drunk, but he never missed when it counted.

She learnt to always strike true... but, what happens when she doesn't know what true is anymore.

For her, the truth she used to believe in was that the world could be shaped, whether by arrow or superpower, and she needed to give everything to build a better future for her mother. It was all exposed as a lie when no matter what she did, the villains still won.

For a superhero, they may win all the battles which come there way, but the war's outcome is still uncertain.

Humorous, that the only certain thing is that there's uncertainty.

Perhaps she can find some semblance of peace with that- life always goes on, no matter what happens. All she needs to do is make sure the people around her also carry on.

It's not an easy task, but one she takes up willingly.

Pressing down, the next ball comes flying out of the machine.

She lets loose.

The ball doesn't make it far out of the machine before it's painfully pinned against the wall.

 _Time to be a hero_.


	11. Episode V, Part II

**A/N**

 **Hope you enjoy the twist at the end!**

* * *

 _ **"It's a-me Mario!"**_

 _ **-Mario**_

* * *

 **Episode V: The Last Straw, Part II**

The way that he's stood.

The way his head doesn't dare flicker away from perfect alignment with his spine.

The way he taps away at the computer with a fervent ferocity, fingers barely touching the surface of the keys before searching for their next target to caress.

Everything about the Batman's stance conveys the impression of a man who is incredulously focused- on what, Hal intends to find out. He's tired of simply abiding Batman's secrecy, and ignoring the fact that ninety-nine percent of the time, he is working some hidden agenda which more often than not doesn't align with the League's own thoughts on the matter.

Not that many in the League would stand up and say anything to him. No matter what, he'll always have Superman and Wonder Woman stood behind him at every turn. Sometimes, they act like his sidekicks- defending his every action.

Hal has seen enough of Bruce to know what truly makes the man behind the mask tick.

He lies about his whole 'crusade' just as easily as he lies to those he's supposed to call friends. He's no more than an angry boy still trying to shake his fist to the heavens even after decades of his parents dying.

It doesn't matter how many villains we defeat, or how many people we save- to him, the world will never be good enough to say 'there's nothing more left to do'. He'll be here long after this war against the Supervillains has ended, and he'll take his anger with him to the grave.

Hal isn't going to sit by and let him take those kids down with him. Sinestro wanted the same things as Bruce does- order and stability, but at the same time, Sinestro let his fear drown those who followed him, until there was nothing left but that raw stench of horror.

"No," the Batman loudly states, eyes still glued at the screen, and fingers tapping away.

"Come on, bat, I've known you long enough to see that you've rehearsed this," Hal shakes his head. "Usually, when you rehearse things, it's because you have something to hide- more than usual, anyway."

"How smart of you," Batman sarcastically deadpans.

"There's that classic Wayne ego- thinking that because you can make a snarky comment, you're somehow better than me. The League would be a lot better if you just told us what you know. Or does it all come back to your paranoia, huh? The only person you can truly trust is yourself, blah blah blah."

"I just don't trust you," he responds.

"Ahhh... so that means Superman knows?... Diana?" Hal counters, staring at the back of the Batman's head with his arms folded. When no answer comes, he continues, "Thought so."

"Let's cut to the chase, Batman, I know you have some clue where the kids went to- even you would've been more distraught if you thought Robin was dead," Hal attempts to get straight to the elephant in the conversation, tired of the witty remarks and diversions.

"You're right. I don't think they're dead," he admits, though not giving much more away than that, as usual. "But, I don't know where they are."

"Yeah... I don't believe that?" Hal retorts, growing more impatient by the moment. So much so, he's beginning to tap his ring in his bicep, barely realising it.

"I doesn't matter what you believe. I can't tell you what I don't know."

"Fine, let's play it your way," Hal grumbles, storming off towards his quarters with much more doubt and uncertainty than he entered the conversation with.

Only one thing is for certain: he will find those kids, and keep them safe.

* * *

Rallying together as many of his trusted friends as he could without a rousing too much suspicion, he calls them to a meeting inside of his room.

It doesn't take long for Shazam, Flash, Green Arrow, Hawkwoman, and Black Canary to arrive. But before he could begin the meeting, Wonder Woman also makes her way through the doors, rather unexpectedly.

"I heard you called a meeting, and I assumed it's purpose. A lot of the League knows you had some choice words for Batman earlier, so I'm guessing you think he knows where the children are," she greets them.

"Yeah... and I think he's got something planned," Hal responds, looking over the assembled group of discontents, "whatever it is, he's obviously going to dangle the team as bait. I can't allow that, _we_ can't allow that."

"Damn right," Green Arrow agrees. "Those kids should never be could up in his machinations."

"So, I want to officially invite you to join this little club of ours. Together, we're going to try our damn hardest to help those kids, and stop them from doing this alone if necessary," Hal speaks up, waiting for any refusals, but only sees serious nods.

"What about Superman? Should he help us?" Shazam asks, a look of confusion on his face, clearly barely grasping the secrecy of this group.

"Superman? That Boy Scout can't hide anything from anyone. We tell him, the whole League will know in no time," Hal answers, to Wonder Woman's quiet agreement.

"Hal's right. If Superman knows, Batman will too," Diana states, looking at Shazam. If anyone would be the one to tell Superman, it would be his adoring young fan.

Though, Shazam nods in agreement, and with a lot more confident and determination than usual. Clearly, he's at least going to try and keep a secret this time.

Still, it's only a matter of time before the world's greatest detective finds out about their little agreement. So, it would be best to work quickly.

"First order of action: we need t-"

Being cut short by a loud beeping, the entire room turns over to Hal's drawer, where the intriguing sound of emanating from.

"That's odd," Hal shrugs, thinking nothing of it really. But, the beeping keeps on getting louder and louder, until the drawer keeps on thudding, as though something is trying to escape.

Flash is the first one to investigate, opening the drawer. Something attempts to fly out, but Flash reacts and pinches it between his thumb and finger.

Struggling to get free is Kyle's Green Lantern Ring, beeping and violently trying to wriggle free from Flash's control.

"I thought Kyle's ring couldn't choose a new bearer," Diana smartly recalls.

Since there's technically a Lantern in charge of Earth's sector, the ring given to Kyle was kind of a 'one-off' duplication of Hal's ring which he sent off when him and the other human lanterns were all indisposed.

"It can't," Hal gasps.

Seeing Hal's reaction, Oliver warily asks, "What does that mean?"

"It means... Kyle is still alive."


	12. Apology

Hi all, not sure how to say this but believe that I may owe you all an explanation. I've spent the past few months dealing with a whirlwind of things and ended up neglecting the people who read these stories. At this point, not sure if anyone is left to read this anyway, so just wanted to let you know that I am sorry.

Hopefully, with things calming down I can finally carry on with what I love. These stories are both fun and therapeutic to me. If you're still here, I'd like to take the chance to thank you all for keeping the faith.

I want to reward that faith by delivering a fully consistent schedule beginning this weekend, so I hope you enjoy.

And again, thank you.


	13. Episode VI, Part I

**A/N**

 **Well here we are - finally - so hopefully with a bit more time on my hands, I can reliably upload chapters of this. For those interested, I'll be updating my profile with a new schedule of when you should be expecting more parts.**

 **Thanks for taking the time to read, and please leave a review so I know what needs to be improved/what you think.**

* * *

 **Episode VI: Visiting an Old Friend Part I**

Whenever Robin comes up with an idea, it's usually the job of the team to scrutinise and then ultimately agree to the plan, since none of them can come up with something better. Turns out, this might be one of his worst ideas.

"You know, you could've got Zatanna to let us breathe underwater," Artemis sighs, "She didn't have to actually _turn_ us into Atlanteans, and not the good-looking kind."

Looking around her, she stifles a grin as the people around her look absolutely amusing. Just seeing Conner float around as a giant pufferfish-esque creature is making her question just what the actual reasoning behind Robin's plan was. Then again, with those chubby cheeks, it's going to be quite unlikely that anyone would believe it's actually the Boy of Steel, despite having on the same t-shirt he wears to every function, hero or not.

Zatanna even made KF's ginger hair spike up on the top of his head, making him a very ginger fish. Even where magic is involved, Wally can't escape his genetics.

Despite all of this, the very lucky M'gann has the ability to not be ridiculed in such a way, instead simply adding some gills to her body; Robin was the least affected by everything, probably due to his burgeoning relationship with Zatanna. She wouldn't want to turn him away by making everyone laugh at him like us, or at least that's why she turned him into a relatively normal looking Atlantean, adorned with gills and the sorts. If anything, she's just made him more muscly.

"What are you smiling at?" Conner grunts, his cheeks swelling to double their size, though this makes her even more amused. "You're the one who has a tail."

As for herself, Artemis doesn't mind her magical transformation too much.

Just a simply change of hair colour and a very quick change into a mermaid, though Zatanna assured them all that the transformation was temporary and would wear off after a few days- at least without her magical interference to manually reverse the change- so Artemis isn't too worried about her future as an Atlantean. If anything, she's more concerned with the fact that they have never actually been to Atlantis apart from a few short trips and are more than likely going to be exposed or get lost.

"Okay, I think I know where we have to go," Robin finally announces after a few minutes of careful deliberation.

Wally is the first to respond after what seemed like a moment they were potentially lost already, "You know, there are many things which are wrong about you, but thank everything which is good that you have a half-decent memory."

"Did any of you _doubt_ me?" Robin raises an eyebrow, looking at the team in disbelief.

A collective _eh_ gave Robin his answer, though not one which he expected. He shakes his head, pointing in the direction which he believes is the one they should be heading in.

Wading through the water, the fabled lost city soon comes into view, it's bright, powerful lights piercing through the relatively dark depths. Robin briefly turns around to give the team a knowing smirk, though he quickly refocuses himself in typical Robin fashion.

It doesn't take them an eternity to actually reach the entrance to the city, and after several rounds of diplomacy- and Superboy almost punching holes through the guards- they eventually allow the extra-ordinary group into the city, though begrudgingly. From what Robin appears to have learnt from Kaldur himself, Atlanteans are generally suspicious, even of their own kind. To gain entry, Robin simply had to try and downplay their complete lack of knowledge in regards to Atlantean customs and mannerisms.

Still, he somehow managed to gain them entry, and with that, the team hurriedly moves into the city, clearly astounded by the fact they were even allowed inside.

"Don't know how you do it," Wally gives Robin a friendly smack on the shoulder. "Then again, you somehow managed to get Zatanna to fall in love with you."

Robin flashes a shockingly menacing gaze towards Wally.

"Dude," the Boy Wonder hisses, obviously annoyed by something which Wally shouldn't have brought up at this particular point in time.

Wally simply shrugs in return. "My bad."

Hilariously spinning into a circle to face the team, Robin begins, "Okay guys, here we are. Everyone needs to be on their a-game tonight. Who knows how many Atlanteans are secretly on Black Manta's side, and to be perfectly honest, we don't need that type of exposure right now. Our plan is simple: find someone who knows where that traitor Kaldur is... are we good?"

"I can't wait to finally get that spineless coward!" Conner exclaims, smashing his fins together.

"M'Gann," Robin's attention drifts to the Martian.

She nods. "I know, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"See you all here in an hour," Robin says, gesturing goodbye to the team and swimming off with Wally at his side.

"Good luck everyone, and remember... we know why we are here," Artemis states, making a point to stare into the eyes of every last team member.

Taking off an a completely different direction, both M'Gann and Conner speed off, with M'gann already struggling to keep the Kryptonian from smashing into the side of every building in his path.

Finding herself standing alone in a city filled to the brim with all forms of strange sea life, Artemis looks around, not entirely sure where to begin. After all, Robin warned them to be careful about who they speak to, and she's confident the standard rules of human etiquette apply down here, so she might just end up making enemies of everyone.

Trust has always been an issue for Artemis, and that issue has just got ten times larger.

* * *

 _Hey, I thought the guy seemed pretty dependable,_ Kid Flash communicates his thoughts to the rest of the team as they are beset upon by multiple Atlanteans inside of the market square, civilians rushing around the avoid the fighting and ignoring the multiple stalls flying across the entire square.

It turns out that Black Manta's forces had already deeply infiltrated into Atlantis, and Kid Flash had inadvertently announced their intention to find their leader to every single agent inside of the market region.

There are times when Wally's ability to make friends which anyone becomes much more of a liability than a helpful skill.

This is one of those times.

 _CLEARLY THEY AREN'T,_ Artemis telepathically groans, hand reaching for her specially-modified bow and unfolding the mechanism. With a satisfying click, the bow extends to full size and before anyone could notice the sudden appearance, Artemis had already loosed an arrow into the nearest assailant; configuring her arrowheads to have their own mini-propellers was a nuisance, but one which has definitely proven fruitful.

Feeling quite sorry for the beautiful market as Superboy cannonballs into a group of villains, Artemis has just enough time to let another arrow off as she's grabbed from behind and thrown forwards.

Luckily, M'gann manages to telekinetically catch Artemis before the nearest wall becomes one with the archer, before being assaulted herself from all directions.

Black Manta has trained his soldiers well, as the ambush in itself was quite sneaky, utilising the main strengths of his soldiers to good use. Little did they know that the various stalls they passed upon entry to the square were operated by Manta's infiltrators.

Instinctively pairing up with Robin and placing themselves back-to-back, Artemis returns to her shooting posture and attempts to keep as many of the soldiers off M'gann as possible.

Although the soldiers caught the team by surprise, the team quickly begins to gain the upper hand as Superboy and Wally speed and crash around the market, taking out multiple target at a time. Despite all the times Artemis has witnessed the destructive capabilities of Conner, there's something amusing about watching the Kryptonian soar around, inflated and angry.

In a different situation, Wally would also be funny but it's annoying to be accidentally smacked in the face with his rear-end every time he passes by. The speedster clearly hasn't gotten used to being inside of his body yet, though it's equally as interesting that the speedster _still has_ the ability to move at super-speed, swimming around at ridiculous speeds.

"Let's finish these up and get out of here," Robin grunts, throwing something at one of the soldiers, "We don't want to be around when the Atlanteans come and see why their market is destroyed."

Artemis agrees, "We should take one of the soldiers with us and see where their camp is. Might as well find something useful to make this worth our while."

Despite their combined efforts, the ambushing Manta minions were unable to do much to the team, if only inconvenience them. Black Manta may have a formidable fighting force, but the team doubt anything can be much more formidable than Superboy as of late. The Kryptonian really seems to be taking his training up a notch, and it's creating a beast worthy of the name 'abomination'. Of course, none of the team would dare state as such in the open, or anywhere remotely near to where Conner might be.

Super-hearing can be an annoyance when trying to gossip, especially when it's about _him_.

With unconscious bodies strewn across the once peaceful marketplace, Robin spots one of the soldiers slowly crawling away. The soldier is good at it, creeping at a miniscule rate and making no noise whatsoever, but not good enough to escape the attention of the Boy Wonder.

 _That one over there,_ Robin points out the soldier and Wally quickly crushes any hopes the trooper had of escaping the situation, a well-placed boot pushing down on the centre of the soldier's back.

Superboy takes the initiative and grabs the soldier, holding him up by his clothes for the more discreet members of the team to get what they want out of the Atlantean.

"So.. how are you?" Artemis gives the soldier a fierce tap - more akin to a slap - to his face, before carrying on, "Never mind, probably aren't doing too good considering we just took all of _you_ out."

"There's more of us.. many more," the soldiers ominously retorts, though it earns him more of a chuckle than fear.

Robin interrupts the Atlantean's villainous posturing, "So, that's exactly what we wanted to hear, well done. This is the easiest interrogation we've ever had. Now, all you have to do is tell us where all of your buddies are hanging out, and you can go on your merry-way."

"Really?" Wally raises an eyebrow but then gets the gist of what's going on when Artemis shoots him a dangerous smirk. "Uhh.. yeah.. that's right, you get to go."

Conner's grip tightens on the uniform as the soldiers take a break to consider the situation, and with a quick glance at the Kryptonian's annoyed face, the soldiers wisely decides to give up the location of the base.

"Outside of Atlantis, inside the trench to the east." the man reveals, to the approved nods of Robin and Artemis.

"East? We are in the ocean, how are we supposed to tell which was is East?" Wally asks, confused as always.

Shifting uncomfortably with Conner's iron grip, the soldier looks at the team. "Do I get to go now?"

With a nod to Conner, Robin smiles. "Sure."

The last thing that soldier saw before the deep black of unconsciousness was the powerful fist of a clone.

* * *

"Only a couple of guards," Conner comments at the state of the camp, clearly disappointed by the developments.

"No," Robin responds, surveying the trench for anything which could provide some context. "They have already gone. Look at the size of the camp, no way that Manta creates this large of a camp for just a few patrols."

Black Manta must have been preparing this camp for a very long time, judging by the way the command structure and living quarters seem to be organised and secure. With the base arrayed into three clear levels, each one going deeper into the trench, it's clear that Manta was also anticipating some form of reprisal from Aquaman, with the most important building hemmed into the walls of the trench at the bottom level.

All in all, an impressive base of operations, though severely lacking in activity. Being patrolled equally, Conner's eyes spot around three or four guards on each level, each patrolling in a section pattern.

"Surprised that Aquaman hasn't even found this," Wally brings his part to the conversation.

"I don't suppose many of the residents of Atlantis come out this way," Miss Martian offers, nodding towards the armed guards as they patrol the camp and it's perimeter. "Those guys sure look ready for some action."

"Best way to figure out where the rest of them are is getting inside this camp," Robin speaks, quickly adding, " _undetected_ Superboy, we can't risk them destroying any information we need."

Though nodding, Robin can definitely sense the frustration coming from the clone as he takes a position behind KF. Conner might enjoy smashing things a lot, but he can relied upon to _not_ screw up when Robin asks him to; Wally is the opposite, wanting to do as asked and then does something completely else through being himself.

Deciding it's best to keep some of the more indiscrete members of the team behind, Robin commands, "Artemis, take the first level. M'gann take the second; I'm going right down to the last. Be careful."

Turning to the two remaining heroes, he gives an apologetic shrug.

"Stay here and be silent?" Wally returns, clearly understanding the situation.

"Good speedster," Artemis jokes, slapping the redhead on the shoulder and delving into the trench.

The Martian follows suit, though opting to disappear instead of sneaking in the old-fashioned way. Robin takes a moment to wish that he had such abilities before swimming down into the trench.

First to reach her target, Artemis quickly dispatches the first guard on her level, using her bow to whack the soldier on the back of the head with enough force to knock him out. An easy target turns into a difficult task as one of the guards randomly decides to veer of his patrol path and almost stumbles onto a slumped body, without the intervention of a boot from a particular blonde archer.

The other two don't decide to become sporadic and follow their designated routes, allowing Artemis to take them down easily and search the level for anything which could pinpoint the location of the army which should be here.

 _Nothing_ , Artemis announces over the telepathic link. _Any luck on yours?_

 _Give me a sec,_ Miss Martian responds, testing out a theory of hers and toppling one of the guards through a very concentrated psychic blast. The guard doesn't make a sound before falling to the ground, his body still twitching from the activity going on inside of his brain.

Impressed by her own ability to incapacitate the guard, M'gann forges forwards, all of the guards on her level falling to the ground before her powerful mind.

Similar to Artemis, a brief search of the level- which was scattered with various emptied armouries and weapon-making facilities- yields no results.

 _They really took everything, didn't they,_ the Martian speaks, annoyance travelling across the link to the other members of the team.

 _Not everything. Everyone, get down here,_ Robin answers, and it only takes a few mere moments before the team regroups together and joins Robin in his spying.

Unlike the other levels, this one has all of it's guards guarding one singular structure at the far end of the trench. Three guards are littered along the outside of the building, and if the pattern follows the other levels, it means that the last is presumably inside of the building.

"Looks interesting," Kid Flash says. "You think this is the place?"

"Duh," Artemis groans. "Nothing get's past you, does it?"

"Guys," Robin warns, "play nice."

Before taking a moment to ensure that the tension has dissipated adequately, Conner questions, "So, how are we doing this?"

Robin doesn't answer, instead flashing a smile at the clone.

* * *

"Guard duty," the soldiers shuffles around the room he finds himself protecting, attempting to ignore the side of him which thoroughly hates the idea of standing around a room whilst the rest of his buddies take on the King of Atlantis himself. "Why do I always stay behind?"

"By the end of the day, Manta will take his place as ruler of Atlantis.. and all of those who show loyalty shall be rewarded," the soldier recites the words spoken to him by his commanding officer as he was assigned this duty. "Yeah.. don't think so."

His bored musings are rudely interrupted by large banging coming from outside of the building.

"Knock it off!" the soldier yells, once more irritated by the idiotic pranks played by his comrades outside.

And another bang sounds out, this time leaving a noticeable dent in the wall.

"What are you doing out there?" the soldier gasps, shaking his head.

Taking off in the direction of the door, mind filled with ways of scolding the idiots stationed outside, his annoyance turns to shock as he opens the door to the view of four beings floating ominously outside.

"Oh."

The soldier manages to sound his surprise before fading to black.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Thanks for reading folks, hope things are going well for all of you. As stated earlier, I'd very much like to know your opinion on this chapter as I was wondering whether I did a good enough job.**

 **See you in the next one!**


	14. Episode VI, Part II

**A/N**

 **Welcome back to another chapter which I have brought you - on schedule I might add - which can only mean one thing.**

 **Not quite sure what that thing is yet though...**

* * *

 **Episode VI: Visiting an Old Friend, Part II**

Aqualad.

Once, that name brought both relief and calmness to her troubled soul. Now, it brings nothing but a cold, deep anger. Kaldur took everything away from a person who didn't have anything else to give. Her only joy in this life was listening to Kyle's silly mannerism and phrases.

Artemis may have never get this chance again; Kaldur will be _here_ tonight, and that's the opportunity she has been looking for.

The others can save Mera from Black Manta's nefarious plan to destroy Aquaman's reign by taking down the only person who helps keep Atlantis safe whilst the King is on the surface.

Tonight may just be a night which doesn't just decide the fate of Atlantis, but the fate of Artemis herself. Maybe Kyle wouldn't want her to do what she is planning, but thanks to Kaldur he is no longer here to argue his case.

Ever again.

 _Everyone needs to focus,_ Robin states, perhaps sensing the tension around the team. _I know.. I know things are going to be difficult, but we need to stick together and do this as a team._

After Artemis and the team looked over the documents within the building - ancient Atlantean was a pain to translate, but luckily M'gann managed to tap into one of the soldier's brains - they found out that the reason the army was missing was quite simple really.

They are making their move tonight.

Queen Mera is holding an open conference of sorts, inviting the public to ask her questions and learn about the future of Atlantis. Unfortunately, the questions posed today may be a bit more _direct_ than the Queen would expect, and since the team found out first-hand that Manta's troops are everywhere, perhaps it wasn't the best choice the compassionate Queen made during her reign.

Security isn't as tight as it should be, evidenced by the fact all five of them sneaked into the conference without any trouble at all. They aren't even Atlanteans and they got past the guards, which makes it quite scary how many of this particular crowd is here to deal a decisive blow to Aquaman's Atlantis.

 _M'gann, try and probe as many as possible. We need to find out which ones are Manta, but make it as quiet. We don't want them knowing we are watching,_ Robin makes his order, moving closer to the crowd as casually as he can.

 _On it,_ the Martian responds, brow furrowing as she concentrates.

"You good?" Wally slides over to where Artemis is wading, his voice laden with concern and his - fishy - face giving off a tiny smile.

"If you get away from me," she retorts with a bit more venom than she wanted to.

"I get it," the speedster shrugs, though doesn't move from the new position he has made himself comfortable in. "We're all just as nervous as you. Kaldur's going to have a nasty surprise if he thinks he's walking out of here."

"Oh, he won't be walking out of here," Artemis mutters.

Wisely deciding to not prod the archer further, Wally turns his attention to the crowds as instructed. It doesn't take long for the speedster to grow bored and begin watching the other members of the team; everything about speedsters are quick, especially how fast their focus runs out.

Unsurprising, considering that speedsters spend most of their time zooming around and watching the world go by then in slow-motion. She can only imagine the frustration of having to stand still after experiencing the rush of the speed force.

For her, being just an average human is actually more of a benefit than a curse. If there ever comes a day when she's had enough of the constant battles and bruises, she can simply leave.

Wally can't. No matter how much he wants to stay away from this life, having those kinds of powers makes it impossible.

Every time he walks by as someone is about to run over, he can't do anything but help. In the end, she guesses that's why most 'superheroes' have an easier time living this life.

When someone has the power to save lives and change the future for the better, it'll be too selfish to ignore that and have a peaceful, happy life.

 _No-one here even dislikes the Queen, let alone would want to kill her,_ M'gann conveys her findings, much to the surprise of the team.

According to the plans they found, the Queen is certainly their next target. The only logical solution is they are going to ambush the Queen when she is at the most vulnerable, and surrounded by crowds which can easily infiltrated.

 _How? I thought this is where they are?_ Conner asks.

 _Okay, so we don't know where they are,_ Robin starts, _but what we do know, is that they are coming here at some point. The 'how' is all we need to find out._

 _What's the plan then? Split up and cover as much ground as we can?_ Wally suggests.

Artemis dismisses the idea immediately, though doesn't state as such. If she's being honest with herself, the Queen is supposed to be her priority, but she still can't shake away the side of her which is here for Kaldur and Kaldur only. Aqualad has caused too much hurt and destruction for him to escape Atlantis, and the Queen is perfectly capable of handling herself, should Kaldur's tales of her abilities be true.

Then again, nothing which came out of Kaldur's mouth can be trusted.

The Atlantean certainly played them all.

Today is the day they play him right back.

Only this time, they're going to play dirty.

 _We can't, because only M'gann can know for certain where their allegiances lie,_ Robin answers, rubbing his chin in thought.

 _That's not good,_ M'gann suddenly says, eyes focusing on the entering preccession following Mera.

Much like earthly royalty, both Aquaman and Mera have a very large accompaniment of courtiers and guards following their every move, especially on public occasions such as these.

The perfect place for spies to infiltrate.

 _They're in the precession!_ M'gann warns them.

 _How many of them?_ Robin questions, eyes darting in between the crowds in front and the Atlanteans trailing between Mera.

 _That's the thing,_ M'gann worriedly responds, _All of them._ _And, one of them feels familiar.. Kaldur._

The team immediately tenses as though Mr Freeze had just rooted them to the spot. Despite all the planning and the preparation, nothing could prepare them for this feeling.

Anger. Pain. Regret.

Having a Green Lantern apart of their team certainly made them properly appreciate the power of emotion, but this is a different kind than what Kyle had.

At least he could wave his ring and use those emotions to fight for good, but for them, these emotions are doing the opposite.

Breaking the silence, Conner is the first to ask the question they had all been waiting to ask.

 _Which one?_

Reluctantly answering, M'gann states, _The lead guard, right behind Mera._

 _Don't do anything stupid, we need to stick to the p-_

Robin's desperate attempt to halt their fury is fruitless, as he is cut short by the combined roar of Kryptonian and human alike. Both Artemis and Conner waste no time in charging full speed at the one the Martian identified as Kaldur.

Seeing the team break with action, the hidden soldiers break formation early, and begin to swarm around Mera. The Queen appears to be surprised, but makes no effort to escape or cower, instead stands proudly in the centre of her would-be assassins.

It doesn't take long for chaos to ensue as half of the team splits after Kaldur and the other rushes to defend the Queen.

Right before Conner reaches Kaldur - who hadn't even bothered to move out of the way - a bright day of light crashes into the clone, sending him soaring across the room.

Fired by none other than Black Manta himself, the villain watches Mera from behind his helmet. Though no-one can see underneath, they assume Manta's face is one of pleasure and satisfaction.

"A brief setback," Manta begins, nodding to Kaldur and his group of soldiers as they meet Artemis halfway. "Deal with them.. the Queen is mine."

Robin's eyes flicker between both of the situations, annoyed at the way Conner and Artemis ignored his orders. After this is over, there's going to be a lot of explaining to do.

This situation just got a whole lot messier because of it.

* * *

"Step aside Mera, and perhaps I may let you live," Black Manta menacingly offers, waving away his personal guard and gesturing for them to hurry to where Kaldur is battling against the rest of the team.

Luckily, both Kid Flash and Miss Martian have no trouble accepting the Boy Wonder's orders and join him in defending the Queen. They form a defensive wall, shielding the Queen from Manta until they can figure out a way of helping her escape.

"I see your arrogance has not diminished," the Queen retorts, elegantly brushing aside the heroes and standing just a few feet away from Manta. "Atlantis will not bow to you."

"Oh but they have Mera, just look around you," the villain begins to charge up his lasers whilst speaking.

However, he is interrupted as Robin crashes into his helmet, leaping over the Queen and knocking the villain directly into the path of Kid Flash, who strikes Manta half-way across the room.

Grunting, Manta regains his footing and blasts his lasers towards the group, barely missing as the team manoeuvre out of the way.

"Go, I don't wish for you to be harmed," the Queen places a hand onto Robin's shoulder.

"Don't worry your grace, we're feeling the _aster,_ " the Boy Wonder responds, and smirks as a moment of realisation spreads across Mera's beautiful face.

"It's good to see you are still with us," the Queen smiles, waving her hand and firing water towards Manta. "Aquaman has been worried."

"About us?" Wally interrupts, " _Never_."

"I've had enough of this," Manta groans.

Once more, the eye sockets of his helmet begin to grow a violent red. Though much like before, a sudden intervention shatters his attack.

Miss Martian's telekinetic powers are the saviour this time, sending the super villain soaring into the air and directly into the path of the now unhelmeted Kaldur.

"Now to get two birds with one stone," the Martian quips, brown furrowing in focus.

* * *

"How does it feel, huh!? How does it feel to betray everyone who fought side-by-side with you!?"

Artemis' questions pierce through the sounds of ferocious battle, although apparently falling on deaf ears. Yet again, the traitor doesn't respond, instead attempting to grab ahold of the human.

Deftly avoiding the grapple, the archer whacks the Atlantean with her bow and moves aside, noticing Conner scramble towards Kaldur.

The clone barrels into Kaldur, inflated body connecting with an audible grunt.

Stretching his arms as far across the massive body of the Kryptonian as possible, a surge of electricity channels from Kaldur's body, causing Superboy to wince in pain and halt with foreword motion slightly.

Utilising the momentary hesitation to his advantage, the traitor manages to swim to a safe distance.

The pause in the action allows both sides to regroup, and Kaldur takes the time to remove the helmet which has been concealing his face the entire time they had been brawling.

Artemis didn't know what she was expecting. Perhaps, his life of villainy would change his appearance somehow - horns sprouting, or eyes turning bright red.

However, the face looking back at her was the same one which assured her whenever she felt down, or encouraged her to see the good in people. The sad reality is the Atlantean they had known looked the exact same now as he did before his betrayal.

"It appears as though I am the one you are here for," Kaldur finally speaks, his eyes fixed on the two.

"Guess your little bodyguards weren't enough to stop us," Artemis venomously retorts, motioning to the unconscious bodies of the soldiers who accompanied Manta and Aqualad on their mission.

"I wouldn't expect them to," he replies.

"You are both as formidable as ever."

Somehow, Kaldur's words seem more like an insult than a compliment, despite the cool smile on his face.

"You don't get to speak to us like friends," Conner crackes his knuckles. "You lost that right a long time ago."

"When you _killed_ Kyle," Artemis spits out, eyes welling with tears of sorrow and rage. "And you _are_ going to pay for that. With everything."

For a moment, Artemis notices a flash of something behind the eyes of the Atlantean. A minuscule twinkle of the hero he used to be, but just like that it was gone, faded into the background of an Atlantean who threw away his friends for his father.

"Enough talk," Kaldur finally ends the brief and emotion-filled conversation, taking a battle stance and preparing for the inevitable onslaught.

"For once," Conner grunts, "I _agree_."

Being the first to charge at Kaldur, the Kryptonian unleashes a mighty battle roar, plowing towards the enemy with a rage unmatched by even a Red Lantern.

Kaldur begins to meet the charge, but is halted as the unconscious body of his father is thrown into his path.

The sudden appearance creates hesitation on Kaldur's face, and with a solemn smile, he grabs a small device from his pocket and places a hand on his father.

"I'm sure we will meet again," he sighs, and with that, disappears into one of Klarion the witch-boy's portals.

"Damn it!" Artemis yells out, the frustration leading to her throwing her bow away.

"Don't worry," Conner assures with an uncharacteristic calmness, "he can't run forever."

Looking at the Kryptonian, the feelings of anger and sadness subside, and is replaced with a growing sense of failure.

"Cowards always run forever," she replies, wading away from the clone and into a secluded corner of the now body-strewn arena.

"An unfortunate turn of events."

Conner's attention is brought away from Artemis as the Queen herself - and the rest of the young team - joins him in watching Artemis.

"But a victory nonetheless," she adds, flashing the clone a brief smile.

"We'll talk about this later," Robin interrupts the moment, motioning for the clone to move away with a frustrated glare.

"Whatever," the clone mumbles and trods away.

"Your team is as fractured as Atlantis," the Queen comments, turning to Robin, Kid Flash and Miss Martian.

"And we don't even have half the leader Atlantis does," Robin scolds himself. "I can't even get my team to follow simple orders."

"I wouldn't say that," Wally grins, placing a welcome hand - or fin - on Robin's shoulder.

"You have their respect, young Robin, and in time, you will also have their command. A good leader doesn't _make_ a soldier follow orders. A good leader allows the soldier to _follow_ them. You are well on your way to doing so."

The Queen's words are wise, and quite frankly they are words which Robin needed to hear. Someone just needed to tell him he's doing an okay job at this whole 'leading' thing, and who better than the magnificent Queen of Atlantis herself.

"Then again, I find it intriguing that all of you are here.. considering that word around the League is you are missing.. or presumed dead after the explosion at Mount Justice," the Queen adds, examining the young heroes with a considering gaze.

"About that.. would it be hard to ask that you keep this on the downlow? What we are doing," Robin begins before taking a moment to consider his next words, "we need to do it ourselves. Some for closure.. some for answers."

"Considering my life may well be owed to you, perhaps I shall - as you land-dwellers say - 'turn the other cheek' to this."

"That's all we ask for," Robin says, exchanging a polite nod with the Queen before she swims away.

"So that solves one problem, and begins another," Wally shakes his head.

"Maybe not," M'gann wonders out loud, "We know that the Light has an interest in having Atlantis under Manta's control, so would it be hard to imagine they would like the same for another one of Earth's more mystical lands."

"Theymscira," Robin finishes M'gann's thoughts, nodding to himself.

"The land of the Amazons themselves. For once, this mission might actually be some fun," Kid Flash childishly chuckles, wafting his tail around with excitement.

Apologising mentally beforehand, Robin spoils his fun. "We can't risk it Wall-man. This has to be women-only; I'm pretty sure Themyscira has some serious man-detecting magic, so we are going to sit this one out."

Considering it, M'gann glances over to where Artemis is pondering to herself and then back to the two boys in front of her.

"Well, just me and Artemis aren't going to cover that much ground. I say we bring another girl into the team."

"Who?" Robin incredulously asks, before momentarily realising who the Martian is thinking about. "Of course."

"Zatanna _has_ proven to be useful so far."

"Don't act like you aren't enjoying this Robin, we all know how much you wanted her to be on this team ever si-"

"Shut up Wally!"

* * *

 **A/N**

 **There we go folks, here's another as promised. Please leave a review and let me know how you're feeling about this so far. Without spoiling anything, you might be enjoying the next few chapters!**


	15. Episode VII, Part I

**A/N**

 **Themyscira - land of the Amazons and base of operations for Wonder Woman. One part of me wishes I had the chance to explore such a place, but then the other realises its simply a fictional place set in a world full of fictional wonders.**

 **Enough of that depressing stuff, here you are!**

* * *

 **Episode VII: No Mans Land, Part I**

Despite encountering some resistance along the way to the mythical land of Themyscira, the combined skills presented by the group deals with the threat with relative ease.

"Where did you learn that?" Artemis questions the Martian member of the group as she slides on the Amazon's armour and weapons, feeling that weight drop onto her shoulders.

Not used to carrying such weight, it takes her a few moments to compose herself but when she does, she realises just how the flexible the armour is.

"I just.. came across it," the Martian shrugs her shoulders, shape shifting into the form of the nearest unconscious Amazon.

"Here," Zatanna joins in, finishing pulling a helmet over her long, raven hair and strolling over the Martian.

" _Kram._ "

With a single - though the power can be felt through Artemis' bones - word, a large red mark appears on M'gann's chest plate, bright and illuminous.

"Only we can see it," the magician explains, "We don't want to be losing M'gann in her.. Amazon-ness."

"Trust me, it doesn't get any easier," Artemis laughs, prodding Zatanna with her bow. "We all thought the same thing."

"I think we should go now," M'gann interrupts the moment, clearly displeased with Artemis for some reason or other.

Sure, Artemis _did_ ignore Robin's orders and go after Kaldur with Conner, but that happened a few days ago now, so surely she can't still be mad. After all, Robin still managed to save Mera even without her or Superboy. Usually, whenever M'gann is annoyed by someone she quickly changes back to her usual friendly self after a few minutes.

Perhaps this time was different.

Still, the Martian needs to learn that she will do whatever is necessary to capture Kaldur, even if it means placing the mission into the - capable - hands of others. No matter what, Robin will always have a speedster at his back, which is more than she can say for herself.

Although she has spending much more time than she would like with Superboy, he still isn't what she would call _reliable._ It only takes one miniscule thing for the clone to set off, and that's on one of his better days.

"Sure," she responds, turning her back to the Martian and gazing into the distance. "So, how exactly do we.. find it?"

Eyes landing on large structure on the distance, she focuses and examines the building. Carved with marble and in a very Hellenic-style, it's fairly obvious it's of some importance to the Amazons, considering it's placed well above ground level and up what appears to be a long line of steps. Definitely a huge undertaking to travel to the top, for human standards anyway; Wonder Woman can probably leap up as though it was nothing.

"This way," Artemis says, pointing over the building and gesturing for the other two to follow her lead.

"Any tips for my first mission?" Zatanna jokes.

"Only one," M'gann begins, and Artemis can feel the Martian blasting his eyes straight through her back, "stick to the plan. It's there for a reason."

Zatanna awkwardly glances between the two, obviously feeling the uncomfortable tension in the atmosphere. Turns out, she's smarter than Artemis first believed and simply ignores it after a while, placing her eyes firmly on the road ahead.

Walking in complete silence, the agonising route to Themyscira ends as they happen upon a large archway, adorned with various carvings of Gods and mortals alike. Going to Gotham Academy seems to have it's perks as she notices the likes of Zeus, Perseus and even Hera herself.

At least the Amazons take their history proudly.

Taking the direct route and marching straight through the archway, the group stumble upon an open plain filled with women clad in armour and wielding weaponry the likes the human world hasn't used for thousands of years.

For a second, she believed they were exposed, but then the women began their training, leaping around with an agility and grace which would make Robin himself jealous. Some of them were firing their arrows at wooden targets, more than often hitting centre of mass several times in a row from a considerable distance.

"Not bad," Artemis approvingly comments, looking around for something interesting to latch onto.

Eventually, something out of the ordinary happens an Amazon's spear barely grazes past Artemis' face, landing into a marble wall by her right.

"Okay, this is getting dangerous," Zatanna gasps.

"Sorry about that," a tall, muscular woman sprints past Artemis and dislodges her spear, giving the archer a polite nod as she sprints back to where she was training.

Looking back at where the spear landed, her eyes widen as he notices the huge crack on the wall. The spear must have impacted with some force to cause such destruction and Artemis suddenly feels very grateful the Amazon who threw it has a big more practice to be doing.

"So.. Robin said for us to split up and get as much recon in as we can," Zatanna speaks up, though her voice questioning herself. "That _is_ the plan, right?"

"Yes, we can't afford to be sloppy. The Amazons are certainly lesser warriors than their leader, but that doesn't make them any less bright than Wonder Woman herself," M'gann responds.

"You go do that," Artemis disagrees, "I will go and do some real work. We need to find what's going on now, and as for as I know, we don't have a lot of time to go around sneaking on Amazons."

"What's your problem with Robin, huh? Every time he comes up with a solid, smart plan you just go out of your way to ruin it!"

Opening her mouth to fire something back at M'gann, Artemis is interrupted by the ear-splitting sound of a horn piercing through the air. In a moment, the plain which was once filled with action and excitement was filled with silence and anticipation.

Striding into the middle of the field is three Amazons, the two on the flanks bearing flags bearing some form of insignia. Unlucky, Artemis' education doesn't extend to a point she knows what the meaning is, but can kind of understand the importance, taking into consideration the way the Amazons have formally halted their training and watched the women enter the field.

The one in centre bellows out, "Listen up sisters! Today is the day many of you have been training for, and by Zeus, you had better been training _hard_ if you hope to succeed. This tournament shall be one for the ages - many new challenges have been added in order to cater to this new world we hope to tame. Let all those who wish to enter do so now, for you will not get another chance for another ten years."

"Well this is certainly something I don't want to miss," Artemis mutters to the members of the group, hearing M'gann scoff.

"Prepare sisters.. and may the best Amazon rise above the rest," the announcer finishes, her voice resonating through the silent plain for a few extra seconds before the Amazons in attendance begin to cheer and clap with excitement.

Joining in to not seem out of place, the look on Zatanna's face makes Artemis believe the magician wasn't too motivated to join by the Amazon's speech. Then again, when someone is a powerful magic-wielder, throwing around ancient swords probably seems a little bit silly.

"Don't even think about it," M'gann drags Artemis by the shoulder until she's facing the Martian. "We have a mission."

"Does this mission happen once every ten years?" Artemis rebukes, brushing off the Martian's hand like a gentleman would to dirt on his suit.

"Kind of have to agree with M'gann here," Zatanna inputs, "I'd put saving Themyscira above participating in some competition."

"I'd probably take your opinion into consideration if I asked for it," Artemis responds, walking away from the two whilst rolling her eyes. "And trust me, I didn't."

Making the two acutely aware she is enrolling in the competition whether they like it or not, Artemis gains some distance from the two and strolls over to where a long line of Amazons have appeared. Clearly, the competition is a fan-favourite among these warrior women. She wonders whether they would take offence to a mere human winning their sacred tournament.

Probably.

Still, it'll be a fun to make these powerful beings feel overestimated for once in their lives; she doubts any of them have ever felt powerful in their entire lives, however long those might have been.

Whilst waiting in the line, she glances back to where M'gann and Zatanna are stood with their arms crossed their chests. For a second, she doubts herself and wants to turn back and continue with the mission, but that would mean abandoning this golden opportunity to prove she can hang with the best.

Green Arrow has never won an Amazon competition - he's not even allowed on the island.

 _Having fun?_ M'gann mentally invades her personal space.

 _Much more than you, that's for sure,_ the archer responds, giving the Martian a cheeky wink.

 _This is not supposed to be fun. We have a job to do,_ the Martian sarcastically winks back.

Beginning to get annoyed, Artemis snaps straight back, _When did you become Robin?_

 _Since I realised that this team is only held together by our mission. Without it, would you even still be with us?_ the Martian asks, a noticeable hint of sadness on her mind. _Don't answer that.. I know the answer._

 _Then don't ask the question._

Artemis doesn't need a Martian telling her how she should be doing her job, let alone lecturing her on what it means to be apart of the team. The team would still be here without M'gann, but without Artemis, this whole thing would've crashed and burned a long time ago. No matter how many times she saves the team, they never believe in her.

Kyle did. And to some small part, even Kaldur still does.

And yet, here M'gann is, questioning her commitment to the team and the mission. All Artemis wants is one chance to prove herself once and for all, and apparently it's too much to ask.

Conflicted by her conversation with the Martian, Artemis doesn't notice the line has fallen down to just her and the Amazon in front of her. Once the woman in front has finished her admission, it's finally now the archers turn.

"Interesting. I didn't know we had some new arrivals," the Amazon doing the administration comments, examining Artemis as though she was looking at a new-born baby.

"You could say that," the archer replies, allowing the Amazon the satisfaction of looking her over. "Looking to enter and prove myself right."

"That so? Well then, what's your name?" the Amazon smiles.

"Artemis," she answers and the Amazon takes a moment before speaking in a lowered voice.

"It's an honour," she says, writing the name down. "Don't worry, I won't let the sisters know."

 _Oh.. I guess Ill play along with it,_ Artemis thinks to herself.

"Sure," she nods goodbye to the woman and walks off, wondering how _these_ are the fabled Amazons.

Maybe this competition will be a lot easier than she originally thought, if they believe the first woman named Artemis who comes through is automatically the Greek Goddess.

 _Time to live up to expectations._

* * *

Taking a seat inside of the room she has been assigned before the tournament, she takes the moment to kick back in her chair and enjoy the sweet silence of being alone in the room. No annoying superheroes milling around, no villains to capture.

Just one archer and her own thoughts to keep her company.

Feels nice. Feels as though she hasn't had a chance to sit down and enjoy some solidarity time ever since the team began their secret crusade to take down everything and everyone. Then again, hiding inside of a cramped warehouse designed to house a lone hero and his equipment probably has that effect.

Humans need their personal space as much as Kryptonians do - Conner makes certain he has _his_ space, and no-one who doesn't have a death wish enters. Robin flickers around from place to place, always doing something or other, which makes sense. Batman probably didn't tell Robin he could have a few moments to relax every once in a while.

Wally is Wally, and jitters around at superspeed whenever he has a chance. Even if he's going to pick up some milk for coffee or honey for his pancakes, he zooms off and almost breaks everything in his path.

"So.. what's this tournament all about, huh?" the archer mutters to herself as she stands up, her back cracking as she stretches and loosens the armour from around her shoulders. "Hopefully, it's the cool stuff."

Walking to the window and pondering quietly out of it, she spots the building she saw earlier from the view. Then again, it's definitely not hard to miss even without super-sight as the structure dwarfs everything around it apart from the mountain itself, blazing bright white marble for the whole island to see.

"If I have to recite all the Gods and Goddesses backwards, I'm going to throw his helmet at the nearest fire alarm," she sighs to herself.

Knowing her luck, the tournament is more than likely going to be wholly intellectual. Nobody wants to sit there and answer questions - well, Wally might enjoy that being the nerd he is - for a _tournament,_ so if that's the case, maybe she should have listened to M'gann after all.

 _Nevermind, forget I ever thought that,_ she mentally moans, avoiding giving M'gann even a sliver of satisfaction.

"Forget about what?"

Turning her head after hearing the familiar voice, Artemis snorts in annoyance as M'gann enters the room in his current Amazonian form.

"Did no-one ever tell you that eavesdropping is rude?" Artemis retorts, facing the Martian with narrowed eyes. "What are you even doing here anyway?"

Seating herself in the chair Artemis was sitting in, the Martian calmly answers, "One, technically speaking you can't eavesdrop on someone's mind. Two, why do you think I'm here? Here to prove my worth."

"You can't be serious," the archer snorts.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" M'gann smirks, clearly enjoying Artemis' confusion. "Besides, how better to remind you to continue the mission by taking you out of the competition in the first round."

Surprisingly, Artemis at this point does not know whether M'gann is planning on winning the competition or talking her out of it. This throws a spanner in her plans, but maybe this way the opportunity she was searching for after all. What better way to let everyone on the team know she means business than to embarrass the might Miss Martian in front of Themyscira.

"Fine, if that's how you want to play it," Artemis gives in, "it's time for a lesson, _Martian_ , and trust me the only one who is being taught is you."

"Brave words for someone who can't even go a whole day without going off the rails."

"Where is all this coming from?" Artemis chuckles, amused at how much M'gann is changing before her eyes.

"I could say the same to you," M'gann responds. "what happened to Kyle wasn't your fault, so why are you acting as though you were the one who killed him?"

Considering her answer, Artemis turns away from the Martian and continues her perusing out of the window.

"You're right."

"Of course I am. If you know it, why are you still pushing us away at every turn?"

"I'm trying to make sure it never happens to one of you again."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **There we go folks, thanks for reading. I know this one was a bit more talk-orientated than some of the others, but that's just how this part happened out. Please feel free to review, favourite and follow so I know you are enjoying this!**


	16. Episode VII, Part II

**A/N**

 **You guys thought I was lying when I said I was sticking to a schedule didn't you?! Guess what, I'm really not lying. This is it guys, every Saturday and on a Wednesday every fortnight. If I feel the story is getting a bit more love from you guys, maybe even an extra one thrown in there too.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Episode VII: No Mans Land, Part II**

This isn't how the tournament was supposed to go down. Artemis was supposed to do a few heroic things, maybe beat up an Amazon or two and then walk away with her arms raised high and a new accomplishment under her belt. Turns out, this tournament was more geared towards a different kind of competition - these ladies really want to win.

In school, competition generally means that everyone gives it a try at the beginning and the one who pulls away as the best makes the other ones give up. Although this is definitely not the school yard, she didn't expect everyone to be so _rough._

Wiping the mud from her face as she attempts to make sense of the free-for-all, she gets more of the filth flicked onto her face as an Amazon lands directly in front of her, fists raised and ready to smash down on Artemis from above.

Barely dodging as the woman crashed down at ridiculous speeds, the impact still sends her flying into the dirt a few feet behind her. The landing wasn't exactly a comfortable one, but by the way she can still move, it probably wasn't as bad as she first thought.

Who would have known Amazons would create a competition which is supposed to include Amazons and their superpowered abilities - Artemis certainly didn't take that into account when she signed up.

It more than likely wouldn't have changed her opinion on joining, but it certainly would've aided her preparation. Not like she can prepare for _this_ much, but its the thought which counts.

Managing to spot M'gann in the middle of the frenzy, she acknowledges that the Martian is having a much better tournament than Artemis is, using her own powers - excluding the obvious telekinesis - to hold her own against the Amazons around her. Still, M'gann is having trouble keeping up with the sheer ferocity of the warriors around them, and Artemis thoroughly understands why.

Having spent their whole lives on an isolated island with only other similarly gifted individuals to train with, its no surprise they don't pull their punches. They probably didn't need to, if Artemis hadn't thrown her own human body into this situation in the first place.

Spotting a chance to get the upper hand on an Amazon which had just sent one of her sisters soaring into the crowd, Artemis rushes forwards and drives her elbow into the back of the woman's head with as much force as she can muster.

Although it knocks the warriors head forwards, the woman quickly turns around, shaking her head. So, it might not have been the best idea to ambush someone who just launched a super-powered being a massive distance away.

At least Artemis can admit when she's made a mistake. Most of the time, anyway.

Just as the Amazon was about to take her fury out on the poor archer, M'gann barrels into the woman at superspeed, knocking the Amazon to the ground and delivering a final, powerful punch straight to the Amazon's face. The woman slumps fully to the ground, and M'gann looks at Artemis with a cheeky smile.

 _Not such a good ide-_

The Martian's gloating was cut short as another Amazon arrives out of nowhere and does to M'gann what M'gann had just done to the other one. There's no room to sit and relax, that's for sure.

Feeling naked without her bow, she remembers the moment right before they entered the hastily-erected arena when she realised there will be no weapons after all. After all, Amazons can actually be harmed through the usage of sharp weapons, and what can be sharper than one of Artemis' arrows flying into your body.

So, blunt force trauma it is. Certainly a much better option for actual Amazons, but it leaves Artemis in a very dangerous situation.

However, one which she has found herself in multiple times; pretty much anytime she steps into a mission, she's up against villains which would split her in half if she didn't move as quickly as she does.

The trick is simple: always stay one step ahead.

One of Robin's tips which actually became useful.

Teamwork with Robin is a lot easier when she came to terms the he is the only other one in the team who has to put in some effort in order to make themselves useful. With Superboy, all someone has to do is give him something to fight and there he goes; M'gann is what soldiers might call support, providing everything we don't have, including flight and communications. The infamous Kid Flash is the de-facto sweeper of the team, getting rid of every piece of trash which either gets past the others or doesn't stay down.

But Robin, he comes up with a good piece of advice every once in a while, and she can definitely appreciate it.

At this point, she kind of wishes she wasn't such an ass and could ask Robin for some help, both with her current ordeal and the one outside of it.

Black Canary believes the thing about being apart of a team is that you can't escape your problems, or they actually become the team's problem. Canary always has a few good pointers as well - a solid advantage to having her as a den-mother.

 _Have I become the team's problem?_ Artemis wonders to herself as she clambers up the arm of an Amazon who tried to punch her, wrapping her legs around the Amazon's neck and squeezing.

Managing to hold off the Amazon's desperate attempts to rid herself of Artemis, the archer drops to the ground with the now unconscious Amazon, elegantly rolling to get back to her feet.

By the time she had thought about how life is playing out for her so far and taken down the Amazon, the competition had been reduced to it's final dregs, with M'gann and two other Amazons locked in a stunning battle. For a second, Artemis doubts whether she should intervene and instead let M'gann either beat them or fall trying.

Yet, her better judgement was thrown aside as she leaps into the fray, foot extended and seeking a target like a missile.

Seeing her coming, M'gann smartly knocks one of the Amazon's into Artemis' path, so the move ends with the archer's foot slamming into a head. The blow wobbles the Amazon and Artemis takes the advantage, grabbing a helmet of the ground and whacking it across the woman's head.

Artemis' actions bringing the heated action down to simply three contestants, the two members of the team watch each other closely, barely focusing on the third party.

"Not today sisters, the glory is mine - the reward too," the Amazon left snarls, eyes flickering in between Artemis and M'gann.

"Reward, huh? Sound like mine actually," the blonde archer responds, making sure to give the Amazon a wink with the eye not completely focused on her teammate. "You can have runner-up though, I don't like this one much."

"The feelings mutual," M'gann snaps, charging at Artemis.

Instinctively jumping above, she feels a tremendous force on her leg and the ground rapidly approaches. She lands with a thud, and pain rattles through her body.

"You know me too well," Artemis mumbles, grunting as she gets up.

"Stay down," the last Amazon seizes the chance and attacks M'gann with a fury unlike any of the others. If anything, it comes from a place of malice rather than a place of competitiveness. She wasn't joking when she said the tournament was hers, as it definitely feels she will do anything to make it so.

Summoning up whatever strength she has left - and trying her best to ignore the pain soaring through her body - Artemis feels a great weight drop onto her back, slamming her back the ground. Whatever fell must be something heavy as Artemis' cannot even attempt to get back up, instead straining and causing more pain to take a train ride straight to her spine.

Neck directing upwards, her eyes fall on M'gann, who is staring back at Artemis with something of a smile on her face. From this angle, Artemis can't tell whether its a smile of friendly cheekiness or something more on the verge of disdainful gloating.

 _You feeling good about yourself?_ Artemis forces her thoughts on M'gann.

 _No, just glad that I got the opportunity to let you know how much your actions are hurting this team,_ M'gann responds, lifting the body off of Artemis as the crowds around them begin to applause and clap.

 _Glad someone enjoyed the show,_ Artemis' thinks, accepting the hand which M'gann has outstretched and getting back to her feet.

"Well done, sister, and now.. would you like to come with me?" the lead Amazon who had announced the tournament earlier arrives clapping herself.

* * *

"She should be back by now," Artemis' mutters to herself as she paces around the building they were placed in before the tournament had started. Thankfully, her bow had made it's way back to her custody and is seated on the chair, bowstring as taught and ready as ever.

"You can stop pacing, you know," Zatanna interrupts Artemis' musing from her own chair. "Or.. you can pace some more, as we still have no clue whether all hell is about to break loose at any moment. So much for recon."

"The other Amazon," Artemis begins to relay her thoughts to the magician, "why do you think she was so intense about getting this 'reward'?"

"We _are_ on Themyscira, so my guess is that's its something important - maybe a mystical sword used to cut the head off Cerberus, or some other item used by a Greek hero at some point," Zatanna answers, shrugging her shoulders. "It could be anything."

Though she might not admit so out loud, Artemis knows Zatanna is correct. The reward might be something mystical, but that might actually be the reason for them being here.

"So.. if you were a supervillain, looking to cause as much chaos and evil and blah-blah-blah.. wouldn't you want the sword which chopped the head of Cerberus?" Artemis questions, and Zatanna's casual posture suddenly bolts forwards.

"I know I would," the magician nods.

A moment of silence breaks out as Artemis hurries up her pacing, willing her movements to spur some kind of explanation for them to understand. In the end, she decides it was irritating her more than aiding and she sits herself down on the chair beside her bow.

The thought-enticed silence in broken when Zatanna speaks up.

"Whatever is going on, it can't be good for M'gann. If they want whatever is the reward, won't that put her in their crosshairs? I say we take the recon mission and shove into a hole ten-foot deep, and then go save our friend."

"You know what," Artemis sighs, standing up and immediately feeling her stiff body erupt with a dull pain.

After the tournament, the Amazons gifted Artemis some form of cream which did some seriously magical stuff to her wounds. The bruises almost disappeared instantly, but she can't say for certain her brain has quite caught up with it yet.

Ignoring the pain and turning to Zatanna, her eyes look upon the young woman.

Examining Zatanna from top to bottom, it doesn't take the archer long to recognise what Robin sees in the girl, both in terms of beauty and a hero standpoint. She's got that little bit of guts in her which makes a hero great, and the little twinkle in her eyes which scream she wants to do some good in the world. Not that Artemis is an expert on what it means, but she can surely make a damn fine hero in the future.

For now, its time to take her first baby step.

"I like that plan, new girl."

* * *

"Just a few more steps," Artemis gasps, checking behind her to make sure Zatanna is still trailing behind her as they run up the side of the mountain.

Just because the path leading upwards is amazingly well-crafted and designed to make travel as easier as possible, it doesn't mean these two aren't going to have some serious struggle with sprinting up as quickly as possible.

It was a breeze until what seemed like the hundredth step, and then there was a few hundred more after that just to make sure Artemis gets her cardio in.

Surprisingly, Zatanna has a kept a solid pace throughout, managing to keep up with the archer somewhat which was a bit astounding. Artemis didn't expect the daughter of a magician to keep up with a hero which has been doing this for quite a long time now.

"That's what you said a few steps down," Zatanna gasps back, sweat running down her forehead. "I always thought this is what superheroes _don't_ do."

"Do I look like I can fly to you?"

"You have an arrow which can fire rope, don't you?"

"Let me know when you find a piece of rope which can scale a mountain, I'd very much like to know where you get it from."

Zatanna has the mouth of a hero to match too. At least one of the less-irritating superheroes anyway, and coming from Artemis its a compliment. Spending time with Kid Flash makes anyone a bit more tolerant to annoyance, and he's even turned Conner into a relatively normal person.

The end of the trial eventually comes into their view and the end for them signals a whole new challenge. As they jog over to a massive open courtyard, Artemis takes the chance to analyse their surroundings as she pants to regain breath. Greek architecture all around, as expected, with busts of all the famous Gods and Goddesses, all apart from one in particular.

Guess the hard feelings between the Amazons and the God of War haven't yet been forgiven.

"Artemis?" M'gann's familiar voice enters as she and another woman enter.

Standing beside the Martian is a tall and proud Amazon, armour gleaming with the sunshine and crown stamping her authority onto anyone who dares look at it. Her sword burns bright which as much energy as her armour, and is definitely heavy enough to warrant the large muscles of the wielder, who's arms also tell a tale of battles through the various scars and marks across them. An impressive warrior no doubt, and one Artemis reminds herself not to cross at any given point.

"This is Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons," M'gann introduces, "I've already told her why we are here."

"Hi.. I'm... Artemis," the archer greets back, struggling to get out her words as she regains her composure. "Queen of archery, I guess."

"Zatanna, queen of nothing," the last team-member to introduce themselves waves.

"Well, Artemis, Queen of archery.. and Zatanna, Queen of nothing, you have nothing to fear - nothing has or ever will managed to conquer Themyscira, both inside and outside," the Queen politely returns, before her face shifts to one of surprise and she ducks, an arrow knocking the crown off her head and throwing itself off the mountain in act of failure.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," the Amazon they had fought in the competition lowers her bow, an evil smile on her face. "I hoped to win the tournament and slip a dagger into the back of the Queen that way, but the old-fashioned way will have to do. I'm sure you don't mind, your grace."

"Not at all," Hippolyta responds, carefully picking the crown up off the floor and passing it to M'gann to hold.

Just when the Queen was about to engage her would-be assassin, a few more Amazons drop into the courtyard through a portal, though not one which Klarion uses. Whoever allowed them into Themyscira obviously has bad intentions as the Amazons are armed and ready for action, closing in on the Queen.

The team moves forward to intervene, but the Queen waves them off with a shake of her hand.

"I'm afraid not. I need to deal with Circe's traitors personally," the Queen refuses, and the team backs of, Artemis reminding herself she made an internal promise not to cross the Queen.

The ensuing battle was brief, to say the least. It was a thoroughly decisive victory for the Queen, who dispatched the women with a quite frightening ease, placing the crown back on her head and turning to the girls as though she had just taken it off to brush her hair.

"I guess you were right," the Queen admits, looking at the girls with focused eyes. "Although I do not believe you understand the seriousness of the situation. It appears you are making enemies of our mortal enemy, Circe, and that is something not to be carefree about."

"Yet another evil supervillain joins in to beat us down," Artemis groans. "Great job."

"We'll get past it," M'gann smiles at Artemis, casting no elusions that the Martian is a bit more friendly towards the archer again. "We always do."

As the two exchange a brief hug, the Queen stands and watches. Though she doesn't make a move to leave, Hippolyta watches the group in earnest approval, nodding. If only she knew they aren't exactly operating inside of normal Justice League operations.

Shaking her head in confusion, Zatanna looks at the two.

"Hang on.. no-one ever said anything about more than _one_ villain being after us."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Thanks for reading guys... wow, I enjoyed making this chapter for some reason. I guess it was the interactions between Zatanna and Artemis, combined with where I know everything is going. I hope you enjoyed it too, so please REVIEW if you did, and REVIEW if you didn't as well.**


	17. Episode VIII, Part I

**A/N**

 **Over 500 views in the month of May alone, that is incredible! Let's see if we can smash that this month as well, and I'll begin uploaded some bonus episodes for all of you!**

* * *

 **Episode VIII: SOS, Part I**

"You've got to be kidding me."

Of course. There must be several hundred million star systems and beyond in the universe and the one place they track Kyle's ring to is not only dangerous, it's supposed to be a place where any sentient species with some smarts behind them avoids.

And for good reason.

"What?" Green Arrow asks, only surviving in the vacuum of space thanks to Hal's concentration and willpower.

Sharing his aura is generally frowned upon by members of the Green Lantern Corp, mostly as it wastes the ring's power levels rapidly and generally speaking, the only people supposed to be accompanying a Green Lantern on a dangerous mission should be another Green Lantern.

He's glad he chose to ignore the rules this time around - seeing Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman and Hawkwoman encased in a green light of his making is quite cool, even with his vast experience using the ring.

Still, he can't keep it up for long. This has to be a quick rescue operation, but the only problem with that may be the inhabitant of the cave.

Larfleeze.

Even so far away from his lair, the mere thought of his name is enough to cause some discomfort to the usually stalwart Hal Jordan. No Lantern worth their ring takes this particular enemy easy. Those who do make their rings search out a better replacement.

"I need to come out here more often," Shazam gasps, looking around at the vast void of space avoid them. "Cool."

Being the only one apart from Green Lantern with the ability to survive in space, at least Shazam in one less worry for Hal to focus on. The kid does have a point though: there's no feeling in the universe quite like traversing the endless beauty of space.

"You seem worried, Hal," Wonder Woman states, to Oliver Queen's agreement. "What are we facing in there?"

Maybe it would be better to _not_ fill them in about what's lurking inside of the cave, but he's fairly sure it would be breaking some Lantern ethical regulation, and he's definitely already broken too many of them to count so far.

Taking a moment, Hal spins around to speak to the group. One deep breath is all he allows himself to compose his beating heart.

"Emotion.. and not the good kind," Hal begins, to the confusion of many of the members of the group. "What you should expect is two things really: one, you should expect to feel _different_ and more importantly, you should focus on the task at hand. Nothing can combat greed like a selfless mission. Two, the resident creeper inside of that cave is the one and only Orange Lantern, Larfleeze."

Hal stops for a moment in order for his words to sink in, but Barry is the one to speak up first.

"One Lantern, huh? Sounds a piece of cake.. no offence."

"That's where you are wrong, Flash, very _damn_ wrong. You see, a long time ago there were quite a few Orange Lanterns, until our boy Larfleeze decided to hoard all their rings. All that power - which normally would be extended across an entire _Corp_ of ring-wielders in now focused on _one_ very greedy alien," Hal explains, and the Flash only nods in response.

Green Arrow opens his mouth to say something, but decides against it and instead looks to the others to speak in his place. Whatever the archer was planning on saying, Hal is guessing Queen finally understood what's waiting for them. The archer many have his moments of utter stupidity - not unlike Hal himself - but he can be a smart cookie when it comes down to the basics of heroing.

"I'm guessing this _Larfleeze_ will not take too kindly to us entering his domain," Wonder Woman assumes, and when Hal nods, she flashes a smile. "Good. This shall make us rescuing Kyle from his clutches that much more.. as you would put it Hal.. sweet."

"You're right about that, princess," Hal agrees, returning to face the cave's entrance and tentatively floats towards it.

The journey seems as though it would be a small endeavour, but as he gains closer, he can't help but notice his movements becoming more slow and hesitant. Usually, a Green Lantern of Hal's calibre would have no trouble charging into danger at the first opportunity, but past experience has proved more than willpower alone will be needed to defeat Larfleeze. Even with the combined powers of all those present, Larfleeze is more than a match for them.

When first commencing his tenure as protector of space sector two-eight-one-four, none of the instructors actually told him it was alright to feel afraid. A Green Lantern's main enemy is his own fear, but what Hal Jordan has come to discover is allowing your fear to control your actions is the true enemy. All the great Lanterns see fear as only an obstacle in an otherwise straight and narrow road.

A Lantern sees a problem, and that Lantern does absolutely everything within their willpower to solve it. It doesn't matter how you feel, or how many injuries you sustain in the process.

Only that you do it.

Whether Hal would wish to avoid this confrontation or not, there's no way he's going to fly away and condemn Kyle to the whims of a deranged ring-hoarder. He doesn't know how to.

Feeling rejuvenated by his own internal pep-talk, Hal breathes in a few extra times and picks up the pace, dragging Green Arrow and the Flash along. The rest are able to travel on their own, although aided slightly by Hal.

"Into the rabbit hole we go guys," Hal sighs.

"Yeah. We can only hope the Mad Hatter is willing to share his hats," Green Arrow jokes, earning him a few chuckles here and there from the members of the group.

"I wouldn't bet on it," the only Lantern in the group mutters under his breath.

The journey inside of the cave was akin to treading water - no-one wanted to drown by expending too much energy struggling to keep afloat. As soon as they entered the cave, Hal's ring let him know the air was breathable to those in attendance and thus, he let go of his concentration. The one's who were floating by Hal's will dropped to the ground with a slight thud, exchanging silent glances to ensure Larfleeze didn't hear them entering.

Luckily for them, nothing comes out of the darkness and decides to have themselves a snack. Instead, they continue their meanderings until they come across the interior of the cave, the walls themselves alight with a dangerously orange light.

Remembering to avoid staring for too long and overthinking things, he motions for the other members of the team to do the same.

Avarice can come in shapes and forms, and he really doesn't wish to discover how Wonder Woman deals with this particular emotion. Amazon's have their pride, but greed can make that pride downright dangerous.

If anything, Larfleeze is what teachers call on Earth a cautionary tale. At one point, he was wondering around these caves with his four friends and joking about what he had for breakfast, and what girls he fancied.

Then, one small drop of greed led to the complete destruction of anyone and anything he ever cared about. All because he wanted something all to himself.

In the end, he does.

"In the event Larfleeze finds us - and that possibility is infinitely certain - our plan should be to get out of there with Kyle as soon as possible. Everyone needs to stick together.. being alone in this place can do messed-up things with your mind," Hal plans, to the mumbled agreements of the other heroes.

" _Actually, the chances of Larfleeze discovering your presence is around ninety-nine point nine-nine-nine-ni."_

"You don't have to be a smart-ass ring, what have I told you?" Hal interrupts, sighing.

"Guess the maths against us this time," Green Arrow jokes, and the Flash grins in return.

" _This_ time? It's always against us," the speedster jokingly responds.

Speaking for the first time since they began their journey, Hawkwoman comments on the situation. "Why would this greedy piece of filth decide to keep Kyle alive?"

"Absolutely no idea," Hal returns, shrugging his shoulders and continuing to illuminate their way into the cave with his ring.

Fortunately, the previous ventures Hal Jordan has undertaken inside of this cave has allowed his ring sufficient time to map out the interior, so in the event this whole mission goes sideways, he can guide them out accordingly. Still, no chances can be taken. The cave can create it's own illusions, and no-one here is smart enough to deduce which is real and which isn't.

Leading them into the main area of the cave, Hal places his hand up and gestures for them to stop as he hears faint mumbling coming from within the room.

Creeping forwards as slowly as possible, the group crouch down and stay still just within earshot of the horrific monster.

There Larfleeze was, sitting down and hunched over a bench of kinds as he speaks to himself in an almost pathetic way. Orange Light becomes the team forwards from just in front of the alien as the very visible Power Battery brightens the room, it's greedy tendrils sucking any amounts of darkness away from the room. Though it's pointless for them to attempt to do this quietly, it still gives Hal the time to examine Larfleeze's current mood.

Encased in a eye-watering orange uniform, the alien - whose skin matches that of the light of avarice itself - is currently toying around with the tusks located at the sides of his head and mouth, mumbling and making odd sounds as he does so.

"No.. human.. want's what is mine.. cannot give it to him.. must dispose."

Without super hearing, Hal can still make out the insane ramblings of Agent Orange, who seems completely entranced on some form of food or other. For a second, Hal has to convince himself that it's not Kyle, but it's quickly thrown out the window when he remembers that despite many things, Larfleeze generally doesn't eat those he captures.

Generally.

"Where is Kyle!"

Hawkwoman soars from the rest of the group and heads straight for Agent Orange, who steers around in shock. Though the Thanagarian makes it pretty close, the Orange Lantern sends him flying into the group once more with a simple flick of his ring.

"Intruders! Here to steal! Thieves!" Larfleeze frantically yells, focusing his ring on the group with crazed eyes.

Standing in front of Larfleeze's ring, Hal holds his hands up. "It's me Fleezy."

Hal might not be able to calm down the Lantern, but the best he can do is buy some time for the others to get into position.

Picking up on what Hal is doing, Wonder Woman's hand slowly reaches for her magical sword.

"The Green Lantern," Larfleeze acknowledges, eyes narrowing further than Hal would believe possible. "Have the Guardians finally sent you to take what's _mine_ away from me?"

"Nope. Here for.. personal reasons," Hal answers, eyes flickering inbetween Agent Orange and Wonder Woman. "And I'm not leaving until I get what I want."

 _Oh.. wrong words, Hal._

"I knew it!" Larfleeze screams, sending bright orange light into the group.

Hal doesn't manage to get a construct up to block it and it crashes into him, and the last thing he sees before unconsciousness is Wonder Woman receiving the same treatment.

 _That went well._

* * *

As his mind begins to regain consciousness, his eyes struggle to focus on the things around him. Luckily, he's been in this situation far more times than he would admit, and chooses something to focus on, in this case the noticeable outline of Green Arrow and his unmissable beard.

Not taking long before he can fully concentrate and see around him, Hal's first reaction is to check for his ring.

Thankfully, it's still plastered onto his finger. Larfleeze may be the personification of greed, but thank the Guardians he has no interest in collecting willpower rings as well. Then again, he probably lost all the willpower he had when he gave in completely to avarice.

The alien has made a big mistake.

As long as Hal still has his ring and the willpower to use, he's fairly confident there's no situation he can't transform into one of his advantage. With a little bit of luck, they should be free before Larfleeze decides what to do with them.

Attempting to move, Hal hears a quiet wince from inside his cage.

"There's not enough room," Green Arrow whispers, "you're squeezing on my leg."

"Guess he never expected so many visitors," Hal mumbles, taking the chance to assess the situation.

Everyone is accounted for, with himself, Green Arrow and Aquaman all encaged in a bright orange trap with Wonder Woman, Hawkwoman, Flash and Shazam in the other. Noticing where they are imprisoned, Hal mentally groans.

"Bad news guys: these cages mean my ring isn't going to be much use," Hal speaks up.

 _Ring, give me a power check,_ Hal thinks, hearing the ring beep as it examines it's own situation with the same calculating mind Hal is trying to assess theirs with.

 _Forty percent, and with the current absorption rate, it shall be zero within an approximate half-an-hour,_ his ring speaks back to him.

"Not enough juice to do much," the Lantern mutters to himself, thinking of ways out of this situation. "I'm going to need a quick recharge."

" _Psst_ ," Shazam whispers from the other cage, quietly apologising to Hawkwoman as he tramples over her to speak to his fellow jailmates. "So.. this Larfleeze.. he eat people?"

Poor Billy - he might have the courage of demi-gods, but the boy inside is still the same old Billy Batson who gets scared of his own shadow inside of the Watchtower. The amount of times Hal has caught the superhero jumping and yelling 'Batman' has gone beyond even the capabilities of his power ring to comprehend. Sure, Batman is one hell of a scary guy, but he isn't _that_ scary, at least to the man without fear.

"You'll be fine. He has a thing against kids," Hal assures him, and Shazam leans back into his cage with an optimistic smile on his face.

"What about the rest of us? We can't wait and see whether he likes the taste of Thanagarians or not," Hawkwoman asks an important question, her wings almost being crushed by the inhabitants of the cell.

"He must come at some point, and when he does, we shall strike," Wonder Woman offers, shooting a glare at Hawkwoman whilst speaking.

"Both of them are right Hal, and since you know the most about this guy, maybe it's your chance to shine for a change."

Hal can hear Barry mumble from underneath of Shazam's body, the only visible part of his body being his arm waving in the air. Everytime Shazam uncomfortably shifts, the arm goes deeper and deeper down, eventually until the point the speedster is completely hidden under the bodes of the others.

Smarter than he may seem at times, Barry Allen definitely has a point to make. Hal maybe got them into this mess, and he'll be damned if he lets Larfleeze harm anyone of his friends. Kyle is here somewhere, and if he can manage to save this lot, maybe there's hope for his young protégé yet.

"What do you know about this pathetic creature?" the King of Atlantis asks.

"Larfleeze.. is Larfleeze. Speaking from experience, he's pretty much a nutcase. Paranoid, violent, and with a dangerous appetite - the whole shebang. However, the one thing we can play on is that greed of his. If we can convince him we've stolen something of his, he'll be hellbent on getting it back."

"A distraction," Aquaman nods.

"When he is distracted, myself and the Flash shall attempt to distract him further. Hal, you can attempt to contain him as much as you can," Wonder Woman strategizes.

"How easy will it be to convince him?" Oliver Queen inputs, rubbing his beard casually.

"Depends who is doing the convincing," Hal answers, winking directly at the archer. "No offence, but you're probably the most likely to steal something in this group."

"Ouch," GA feigns a sigh.

After a moment of silence, Green Arrow realises the group doesn't find the situation funny and shrugs his shoulders. Although not a direct admission he would like the honours of placing life and limb at risk, it'll be good enough for the time being.

Now, all the team has to do is figure out how to escape the cages and set their plan in motion.

"Any ideas how we get out of these?" Hal asks the group, looking to each member as they shake their head. Clearly, they expect Hal to continue doing all the hard work.

"I've got an idea."

Not knowing who that was and where the voice came from, Hal twists his body around to the displeasure of Green Arrow and Aquaman, but when he sees whose voice it belongs to, his mouth - and everyone's in attendance - drops to the floor.

Kyle Rayner. The damn kid really is alive.

"You guys look like you've seen a ghost," he says with a cheeky wink.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **He's back guys, and it has been torture waiting this long to reintroduce him, both for myself and hopefully - or not - for you as well. It's only on the up from here on out, so please favourite and review and let's keep this rolling!**


	18. Episode VIII, Part II

**A/N**

 **A pleasant surprise I hope, although one which I've been teasing for a while. In any case, here is the next chapter and I thoroughly hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Episode VIII: SOS, Part II**

"How?"

A simple question really, with an answer Kyle is not yet ready to give. Still, the people around him deserve to know even a fraction of what he's experienced over these tumultuous weeks.. days.. he doesn't really know how long it's been.

He's not entirely sure how he managed to become Larfleeze's little servant, but if this is what it takes for him to complete his mission, then so be it. Of course, they can't know about that _yet,_ and to be quite honest with himself, he's still not entirely sure what the mission is. Just going with the flow at the moment, he's just spending his days attempting to piece together everything which has happened.

It's going to be a struggle, but in the end, that's what life is.

One big struggle.

Although it's a true shame he has to take the struggle and multiply it by one hundred percent for no reason other than something he may or may not have experienced.

The most he can remember is a sharp pain, and a fleeting goodbye. Then, the rest is all one big fuzzy mess inside his brain.

"Good question. So.. I'm still figuring that out," Kyle answers Green Arrow with his trademark smile. "The good news is simple: I can get you out of these cages, but I need some help to do it."

"Hold on a second," Hal interrupts, staring straight into Kyle's soul. His former mentor is probably having a hard time processing everything as usual, although Kyle is certain his ring can do most of the thinking for him.

"Yes, I am alive," Kyle responds before Hal could ask, making sure to pat himself roughly on the stomach so they can see he is completely corporeal. "I am not a ghost, although it would be cool, and no, I don't remember much about the 'hows' and the 'whys'."

"So you're telling us.. all this time, you've been chilling inside of Larfleeze's lair, and somehow are not inside one of these cages," the Flash questions, astounded. When Kyle nods, he quickly adds on, "At least we know he's still crazy."

"You still have your rings right?" Hal asks, his face returning to some sense of normalcy as he begins to accept the situation.

That's the catch in this whole situation Kyle finds himself in - Larfleeze has them, and he'll need their help to get them back.

"Larfleeze took them when I first came here," Kyle responds, although not expecting the severe response from Hal's face. Borderline angry, the original human Green Lantern doesn't appear to be too pleased with Kyle's words.

"You didn't have to come here?! Why didn't you come back?!" Hal exclaims with a detectable hint of both frustration and sadness in his voice. "We could've helped with.. whatever you are doing here. You let us think you were dead."

"About that.. how exactly did I die again?"

With his question leaving most of the superheroes in front of him to recoil slightly, he's assuming it wasn't the best way to go. For a second, he's not sure any of them wanted to answer, but then his former den-mother Hawkwoman seizes the responsibility.

"That _traitor_ Aqualad. He stabbed you without a second thought," Hawkwoman replies, her wings tightening along with his fists. Clearly, someone would do some terrible things to Kaldur if she ever got ahold of him.

In Kyle's case, he's not even sure whether he should be depressed or furious about his untimely demise at the hands of someone he believed to be a friend. Weird, how someone's own death can cause so much confusion and questions. From all the stories and heroic tales children read growing up, death is supposed to be absolute, and in the case of a hero, it's supposed to mean something.

Kyle feels the opposite. He's not sure whether it means he never actually died, or he can't comprehend he actually _did_ die.

"Okay, so we'll deal with that at a later point. For now, help me get my rings back, and we'll blow this joint," Kyle offers to the team, and many nods or mumble in agreement.

This is going to take some getting used to - dealing with heroes who have believed the cheeky lantern to be dead, however it shouldn't take long for them to get back into the swing of things, or so he hopes.

"We can deal with the cordiality later," Wonder Woman speaks up, "for now, what do you need us to do?"

About that. So, in reality Kyle might not have a grandiose plan he was pretending to have. Actually, he was simply planning to have the team improvise on the spot and hope for the best, but since Wonder Woman asked - she just had to ask - it's time get creative.

Larfleeze is smart, but one-dimensional. When he focuses on something, he can't shake it off, and the way Kyle has been surviving Larfleeze by simply doing it every time they speak. Say something, repeat it to make sure he hears, and repeat.

A little 'x person is coming to take your treasure here' and a little 'better make sure your things are locked tight, heard there's thieves around' there. Works wonders, and Larfleeze eats it up like the greedy monster he is.

"Flash, Shazam, I need those rings back. Since you two are the fastest, thought I'd give you the task of running around to find it."

"I'll go with them," Hal interrupts, tapping his ring, "Got a map right here."

"Sure. Princess, Aquaman and Hawkwoman, you've got the job of securing our exit. As soon as you hear something bad, keep the entrance clear of debris. The cave's falling apart as it is, and having a superpowered battle inside here isn't going to help," Kyle nods to the members he mentioned, and they all nod seriously in return.

"What about good ol' me?" Green Arrow asks, flashing a smile at Kyle.

"Don't worry, I didn't miss you out," Kyle responds with a smile of his own, "You my friend, are helping me. Someone needs to distract 'Fleeze, and we are the two most annoying people here."

"You're damn right," Green Arrow agrees, a flash on mischief running across his eyes. "Annoying is my middle name - or is that handsome?"

"Definitely annoying," Hawkwoman corrects the archer with a raised eyebrow. Or, at least what Kyle can assume from beneath her nth-metal helmet.

Looking at the assembled team, he nods as he examines their resolve and seriousness. Believing all this time it would be sweet to come back, he didn't expect it to feel this good. He's been itching for action to happen, and the world has landed these on his doorstep.

"I know I said to leave the re-union for later, but.. it's good to have you back Kyle," Wonder Woman says, making direct eye contact with the former Green Lantern. "The League will be thrilled to hear you are back too."

"Some of us, anyway," the Flash sighs, and it's takes only a few seconds for Kyle to come to a conclusion.

"It's weird, but I kind of miss the bat, you know?"

"Ha! You might be the only one to say since Shazam thought he was his friend," Aquaman jokes, and soon the whole team is smiling and reminiscing about those amusing occasions. Even the culprit himself appears to be entertained at the memory.

Once the cheery mood begins to die down, Hal turns to face Kyle once more with a solemn expression.

"I don't remember the last time I sat down and actually enjoyed doing _this_ since you died," he states, and his mood instantly travels to the others. "It's going to take some getting used to... you being alive again."

Although Kyle might not understand how long it's been or the circumstances of his death that well, it's pretty easy to assume both the League and the team have took his faux-passing hard. At one point, Kyle himself tried to mourn his own passing. He stopped due to the morbidity of it all, but it's the trying which counts.

It's been such a long time without speaking to a person with a relatively sane mind, he doesn't know where to begin apologizing or explaining. If anything, his words might just aggravate their pain, and he won't do that to the people he cares about.

Still, he can do his part to get them back on their feet again.

"Don't be so soppy, Hal," Kyle chuckles at Hal, who is still inside of his cage looking out. "Let the good times begin again."

* * *

"I can explain," Kyle begins, mouth searching for the words to temper the build-up of paranoia inside of Larfleeze's brain. Improvising may have been a good idea at the time, but when faced with an almost all-powerful alien with a tendency to destroy anything he believes to be deceitful, trying to not die is a lot harder than expected. "This guy is my friend. You see, here's a straight and narrow guy, and _never_ stole anything in his life."

"Liar," Larfleeze answers with a single word, his ring still trained on both Green Arrow and Kyle.

At least this version of the plan is still working according to plan. As long as Larfleeze is completely entranced on them two, the others have their chance to do their part.

For Kyle, there's still a few things he needs to learn before he can leave. And the only one who can teach him is Larfleeze.

"That hurts - when have I ever betrayed you?" Kyle returns, and Larfleeze loosens a little, though the insane greed behind his eyes remains to it's worst extent. "Think about it.. I've been here for so long, and _now_ I decide to help these people steal what's _yours_?"

"It's always the same with these people. Them and their greed cannot be quenched, until they have taken what's mine!"

Ironic. Then again, another word for greed could be selfishness.

Larfleeze has become so greedy and so self-centred, he can't separate what's real and what is delusion. Many humans would describe this as a form of mental illness, and Kyle would agree in that case. Although, Larfleeze cannot be helped.

There's no treatment or therapy which can cure the deep-rooted avarice within his soul.

"How do you control it?" Kyle throws a curveball.

"Stay on topic, kid," Green Arrow mumbles, earning him the ire of Agent Orange. Needless to say, the lantern doesn't appreciate whispering and conspiring.

"Everything around here is yours, right? What's to stop you from taking everything else for yourself?" Kyle ignores Green Arrow and carries on, his words having some measure of impact on Agent Orange, and his ring's concentration begins to waver ever so slightly. "Must be some days you want to give it all up."

"The simple answer, human, is that I cannot. What's mine is _mine,_ and no-one will take it from me," Larfleeze answers, to which Kyle begins to nod his head in understanding.

"Uh, keep it up kid," Green Arrow motion for Kyle to carry on.

Kyle just needs to understand. Of all the emotions on the spectrum, this one is probably the hardest for a true hero to comprehend. Willpower is a necessity, and fear is understandable. But, this need Larfleeze has to keep everything to himself for no reason other than possession of it, it goes against everything someone who aspires to be a hero should stand for.

A quiet rumbling invades the room as Larfleeze tenses and looks behind him. Next to his bright, powerful Lantern Battery is a single ring amidst an abundance of orange rings. However, this one is shifting uneasily in place, causing the rumbling and bringing something to the attention of Larfleeze which Kyle had hoped to avoid.

"Thief," Kyle can hear Agent Orange angrily mutter to himself.

For once, Kyle examines Larfleeze's eyes and sees something other than paranoia and suspicion.

Desperation.

Even with all this power summoned onto one ring, Larfleeze is still desperate. Desperate for power, desperate for respect, and most importantly, desperation to not let go of everything he has accomplished.

Though, the way he's staring at Kyle isn't due to the greed within his heart. It's conflict, as though the lantern really wishes to let go of his greed and turn this sorry existence around, but there's only one thing holding him back.

 _He can't control it._

All this time, Kyle has been attempting to uncover the mysterious danger of avarice through the lens of a hero and the mind of a villain. But, the solemn truth is.. there's not controlling avarice, and the more you try, the deeper it drowns you.

Avarice controls _you_.

Kyle's moment of realisation and understanding is halted as the orange ring he had been noticing soars from the rest and embeds itself deeply onto the finger of Kyle. Green Arrow's eyes widen for a split-second as he digests what had just happened, but then realises the consequences.

"You CANNOT take it from me!"

Bright orange light bounces around the cave as Kyle and Green Arrow attempt to avoid it's tendrils. They seek out Kyle in particular, seeing Green Arrow only as a hinderance, and enclose the former lantern within it's uncontrollable need.

Green Arrow draws an arrow and swiftly places it onto his bow, but before he could loosen an arrow, more bright orange light seeps from inside the enclosure of greed and explodes outward.

Kyle zooms straight for Green Arrow as he moves outside of the prison he broke out of, flying straight for the exit and grabbing Green Arrow in one simultaneous motion. Whilst trying to leave, Hal, Shazam and the Flash join them. Though not having the time to speak as they attempt to outrun the constructs chasing after them, Hal's eyes widen the moment he lays his eyes upon Kyle's orange suit.

Barrelling through cave walls and humanoid constructs alike, they soon come across the open exit of the cave, where the others are waiting patiently.

"Now!" Wonder Woman yells to the other members of the team at the entrance, and they set to work on the superstructure, bashing into it with all their might. Soon, what began as a few little rumbles from an enraged lantern following them became a tsunami of the unmistakable sounds of rocks falling as the cave began to collapse.

Only just making it out of the entrance, Kyle and Hal quickly make sure the team is fully protected from the rigours of deep space and set off to find relative safety from any retaliation.

"Man! It's good to be back!" Kyle yells, his heart positively trying to escape from his chest.

"Hear hear!" Green Arrow gasps, clutching his heart and breathing heavily.

Kyle opens his mouth to congratulate the team, but a green construct crushes down on his sides, trapping his ring hand by his side.

"Take it off Kyle!" Hal commands, pointing his ring directly in Kyle's face.

"What do you think you're doing, Hal!" Wonder Woman grabs the Green Lantern by the shoulder and pushes him away as far as being in space would allow.

Pausing, Hal points to the ring now currently making it's home on Kyle's finger. "How the hell did he get that on? No-one has been given or taken one of Larfleeze's ring in over a millennium, so I want to know what's going on!"

Although the constructs bearing down on his sides are painful and more than annoying, Kyle shares in Hal's distrust and apprehension in this case. He doesn't want to ever wear a ring fuelled by avarice, but if that's what it takes to complete his mission, then so be it.

"I get it Hal, so how about you let me out and I take off my ring, huh?" Kyle implores Hal.

Thinking about it, Hal eventually concedes and relinquishes his control over Kyle's body. True to his word, Kyle grabs his ring and though it takes much more willpower than he first believed it would, he yanks off the power ring, only being saved from the vacuum of space by Hal and his willpower ring.

"Talk," Hal orders, and the other share in his commandment as they all look expectantly towards Kyle.

 _Here goes nothing,_ he mentally psyches himself up.

"Well.. let's just say I'm doing my own version of 'around the world' but in this case, I need to master the emotions.. all of them. I already know about fear, willpower, rage.. and now Avarice. I can't tell you why I need to do this - and I barely know myself - but you need to trust me on this one," Kyle explains, and the team looks as confused as ever.

Except for Hal.

"No-one's ever attempted that before," the lantern says, astounded. "Then again, I doubt anyone has ever wrested a ring from Larfleeze."

"Until now," Kyle nods, "times are changing Hal, and whatever the world is going to be like, I know the world will be better if I manage to do this."

Kyle's words resonate with the assembled group, and after an agonisingly long wait, the Flash floats over to Kyle and opens his palm, revealing both the crimson ring of rage and the Sinestro yellow of fear. Taking them both, Kyle gives a thankful smile to the speedster, who flashing a knowing one in return.

"Do what you gotta do," the speedster assures, giving Kyle a pat on the shoulder.

"If you're going to do this."

Kyle turns around to Hal Jordan, who approaches Kyle and places a welcoming hand on his shoulder.

"You're going to need a helping hand or two," the lantern smiles, opening his own hand to reveal Kyle old Corp ring. "I'm trusting you on this one Kyle, so don't let me down. Whatever _this_ is.. you're going to have to deal with one old cop by your side."

Nodding with appreciation, Kyle picks up the ring from Hal's hand. The veteran lantern wades away and allows Kyle the satisfaction of gazing upon the power ring which has given him so many memories and tribulations.

Not wasting anymore time in the event this is all one big dream, Kyle slips the ring onto his finger.

 _Welcome back to the Green Lantern Corp, Kyle Rayner._

"Welcome back.. I never left."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Thanks for reading my friends, please review and favourite and if you wish to speak to me about anything, please feel free to PM me!**


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